A Merseyside Police sergeant has been found GUILTY of “grossly abusing” his position by forcing a prostitute to perform a sex act or face arrest.

David Gibson, 44, was convicted of wilful misconduct in a public office by unanimous decision after a five day trial at Liverpool Crown Court today.

Gibson showed no emotion in the dock as he was found guilty by the jury after around five hours of deliberations and the judge went straight to sentencing.

Gibson, of Kirkman Fold, Rainhill , told the woman, who cannot be named, that he would arrest or fine her unless she did something for him to be “the nice man” and let her go.

The court heard the victim, who was withdrawing from heroin and alcohol at the time, had been forced to go out and sell her body by an abusive ex-partner, also a drug addict.

Merseyside Police sergeant David Gibson, who allegedly engaged in a sexual act with a prostitute while on duty, leaves Liverpool Crown Court on the first day of his trial.

Maria Masselis, prosecuting, had told the jury: “We say the defendant grossly abused his position as a police officer and took advantage of a vulnerable woman for his own sexual gratification.

“It is an inescapable conclusion that such behaviour amounts to misconduct because he could not have been properly performing his police duties at the time.”

The court heard Gibson slipped out of Eaton Road police station, in West Derby , during a night shift on November 6, 2014, without making a log of where he was going or telling any of his colleagues.

CCTV footage showed him driving an unmarked Ford Focus around the Shiel Road area, before pulling up and allowing the 30-year-old woman to get into the car.

Ms Masselis said: “She asked him to arrest her. He refused. She offered to pay the fine. He said she would have no money to pay it. She asked him to be the nice man and let her go, and she promised she would stay away from the streets.

“He said he could get in trouble for letting her go, and asked what she would do for him to be the nice man.”

The pair drove to a more secluded location, where the woman claimed Gibson “was a bit rough” and refused to wear a condom.

After the incident he told her she was “getting nothing” because he had “got her off from being nicked.”

Merseyside Police sergeant David Gibson (right), who allegedly engaged in a sexual act with a prostitute while on duty, leaves Liverpool Magistrates Court.

In her police interview, she told officers she felt “blackmailed” by Gibson and said she “didn’t think someone would put me through that.”

Asked how it made her feel, she said: “Disgusted, I just wanted to get out of the car and go home. I felt vulnerable. I felt like I had to do something for nothing, it’s bad enough doing it for money but not for nothing.”

Gibson was caught after a volunteer from the charity Streetwise, which offers support and advice for street based sex workers, overheard her saying she “had to do some business for a policeman.”

During the subsequent investigation forensic experts found semen from the defendant on the passenger seat of the vehicle, and later saliva from the woman.

Gibson was arrested on November 18, 2014, but claimed in interview that he would not “touch a sex worker with a barge pole” because “a lot of them carry disease.”

He said he had been on a drive around trying to gather intelligence about drug dealing.

When confronted with the forensic evidence he claimed he had masturbated in the vehicle around an hour before meeting the woman, and may have stained the seat when he leaned over to throw a tissue out of the window.

In court he told the jury he had been suffering from the skin condition psoriasis, and had been rubbing his groin area which led to him becoming aroused. He claimed this was the first and only time in 22 years as a police officer that he had pleasured himself while on active duty.

Merseyside Police sergeant David Gibson, who allegedly engaged in a sexual act with a prostitute while on duty, leaves Liverpool Crown Court on the first day of his trial.

However Ms Masselis dismissed his defence as “implausible” and told the jury: “For this defendant to be telling the truth he would have to be regarded as one of the unluckiest men that ever lived.

“You would have to entertain a series of the most extraordinary coincidences. One, the only time his semen has ever been on the inside of a police vehicle, he is arrested. Two, the complainant is able to predict the presence of semen in the vehicle.”

In a bizarre exchange, Gibson also claimed that an officer receiving a sex act from a prostitute would not be “abandoning his duties” as long as he was “ready to respond.”

Criminal carers

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A disgruntled labourer had police officers fearing for their lives as he led them on a low-speed chase in a dumper truck while high on drugs, a court has heard.

Father-of-one Nicholas Churchill, 40, left a trail of destruction after taking the 20-tonne earth mover from his employer after complaining about its air conditioning, saying he was too hot to work.

He was followed by six police cars and a helicopter for two hours over 40 miles across Norfolk and Suffolk reaching a maximum speed of 30mph, ramming and wrecking three patrol vehicles along the way.

After he was jailed for dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while unfit through drugs, Norfolk Police released dramatic video footage of the chase.

Judge Anthony Bate sentenced Churchill, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, to 14 months in prison. He also banned him from driving for two years.

He said: "You left a trail of destruction and damaged police vehicles in your wake. It was a shocking piece of sustained dangerous driving."

Footage taken from a helicopter, CCTV and car-mounted cameras showed him veering wildly across busy roads, including the A140, A11 and A13, and dodging police road blocks.

Undated handout photo issued by Norfolk Police of Nicholas Churchill, 40, who has been jailed for dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while unfit through drugs

An officer who was inside one of the cars said in a statement read to the court: "I thought I was going to die, I was petrified and never felt anything like this before in my career.

"I believe the vehicle was so large and heavy it could have driven over our police car."

A female officer involved in the pursuit said: "In my 30 year career, I’ve been kicked, punched and spat at. I’ve never been so petrified."

Prosecutor Andrew Oliver said that after driving around the Norwich ring road – forcing cars to swerve out of his way – Churchill headed to the A11 dual carriageway.

He continuously swerved in an "act of aggression" against police chasing him.

Officers deployed a stinger device to disable the truck but its tyres were so heavy that it did not work.

Churchill then drove the truck towards the police officer who was standing on the grass verge to deploy the stinger.

Shoppers scattered as his truck careered down a high street and over a pedestrianised square before coming to a halt near his home in Brandon, Suffolk.

Screen grabbed image taken from footage issued by Norfolk Police of Nicholas Churchill as he led police on a low speed chase in a dumper truck

Mr Oliver said Churchill had been working at a quarry near Spixworth, Norwich, at 12.36pm on July 20 last year.

He began his journey after being told the air conditioning could not be fixed and he should carry on working.

In fact, it was a mild day of about 13 degrees centigrade and he felt hot because he had been taking amphetamines, Mr Oliver added.

He said: "This is in itself a dangerous vehicle to be driven on public roads – it is not allowed and was not insured to do so.

"It caused massive disruption and a massive involvement by Norfolk and Suffolk police.

"He put the lives of members of the public and police officers at risk."

The damage to the police cars cost about £25,000 to repair.

Lindsay Cox, mitigating, said: "It may not have been hot that day but it had been a period of very hot weather and the defendant, for what’s it worth, had repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction at doing hot work in the hot cab of this vehicle.

"He was effectively told ‘like it or lump it, carry on working or go home’ and the red mist descended."

Detective Constable Andy Vinsen, from Norwich CID, said: "It’s a miracle no one was injured when the vehicle was driven on main roads through heavy traffic, which could have easily led to an innocent member of the public being hurt.

"During the pursuit, Churchill purposefully rammed into three police cars. Thankfully, no officers were in the cars at the point of impact, but this could have ended very differently.

"I am pleased that Churchill has been given a custodial sentence, which demonstrates that this is a serious matter and the courts will not tolerate such despicable behaviour."

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A phoney Liverpool mortgage broker who conned a house-hunter out of nearly £23,000 avoided jail.

Toxteth businessman Edward Madden, 54, told Marjorie Burt he could help her pick up a flat in Essex on the cheap, but had to pay cash directly into his bank account to prove she had a deposit.

He was found guilty of two counts of theft at Snaresbrook Crown Court, in London.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay costs of £4,500.

The court was told that Madden, of Cedar Grove, has since paid back a total of £25,242.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Merseyside Police sergeant who forced a prostitute to perform a sex act or face arrest was jailed for 30 months.

David Gibson, 44, was found guilty of wilful misconduct in a public office after a five-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The married dad-of-four, of Kirkman Fold, Rainhill, told the woman he would arrest or fine her unless she did something for him to be “the nice man” and let her go.

The victim, who cannot be named, was withdrawing from heroin and alcohol at the time, and made to sell her body by an abusive ex-partner.

Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, said Gibson had “played for very, very high stakes,” adding “it was an overwhelming case”.

‘You pressed your own self-destruct button’

He said: “For half your life you served Merseyside Police with distinction. You had real prospects of promotion.

Then in the early hours of November 6, 2014, you pressed your own self-destruct button. I see you nodding. It’s a pity you didn’t nod earlier.

“You toyed with and preyed on her obvious vulnerability.”

The jury heard Gibson “grossly abused” his position by taking advantage of her “for his own sexual gratification”.

Gibson slipped out of Eaton Road police station, in West Derby, during a night shift without making a log of where he was going or telling any of his colleagues.

CCTV footage showed him driving an unmarked Ford Focus around the Sheil Road area, before pulling up and allowing the 30-year-old woman to get into the car.

The pair drove to a more secluded location, where the woman claimed Gibson “was a bit rough” and refused to wear a condom.

He then told her she was “getting nothing” because he had “got her off from being nicked.”

*Read more: Top cop slams sergeant who forced prostitute into sex act

Gibson was caught after a volunteer from the charity Streetwise overheard her saying she “had to do some business for a policeman.”

Forensic experts found his semen on the passenger seat of the vehicle, and later saliva from the woman.

When arrested Gibson claimed he would not “touch a sex worker with a barge pole” because “a lot of them carry disease” and said he had been trying to gather intelligence about drug dealing.

When confronted with the forensic evidence, he suggested he had masturbated in the vehicle before meeting the woman, and may have stained the seat.

He told the jury he had been suffering from the skin condition psoriasis, and was rubbing his groin area, which led to him becoming aroused.

He claimed it was the first time in 22 years as a police officer that he had pleasured himself while on active duty.

Prosecutors dismissed his defence as “implausible” and told the jury: “For this defendant to be telling the truth he would have to be regarded as one of the unluckiest men that ever lived.

“You would have to entertain a series of the most extraordinary coincidences.”

In a bizarre exchange, Gibson also claimed an officer receiving a sex act would not be “abandoning his duties” as long as he was “ready to respond.”

The victim told the court the offence made her feel “sick and dirty” and she has suffered flashbacks.

Victim ‘now feels unable to trust the police service’

Maria Masselis, prosecuting, said: “Understandably she now feels unable to trust the police service.”

Nicholas Clarke, QC, defending, said his client had served the people of Liverpool, been a parent governor at a school and coached a children’s rugby team.

He accepted he had committed a “serious breach of trust” and brought shame upon himself.

Judge Goldstone said: “He will lose his job, he will lose his salary and he is likely to lose his pension.”

The judge said the victim felt she was blackmailed by Gibson “who had of course no intention of paying for her services”.

He said: “In truth your conduct was as close to blackmail as it could have been.

“No wonder she felt so humiliated and degraded. No wonder it destroyed her faith and trust in the police.

“Never in a million years did it occur to you that she would have the courage to complain about what you had done and report it to the police.

“As the web closed in on you, you tried to lie your way out of the compelling and unanswerable forensic evidence which tied you to the crime.”

The judge said Gibson had shown no remorse for his crime and prison was “no more than you deserve”.

He said: “The public must be confident in the knowledge that severe punishment will be meted out on those police officers who betray the trust reposed in them.

“By your conduct you have brought shame on your wife, on your family and on yourself.

“You have brought shame on the police in general and Merseyside Police in particular, whose job is difficult enough without having to deal with the fallout of an offence such as yours, which does untold harm to confidence and trust in the police.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A jilted boyfriend was found guilty of starting a fire at his ex-partner’s home which killed her dog.

Danny Rowan, 34, was arrested after a blaze at Jodie Arnold’s house in July Road, Tuebrook on November 8 last year.

Miss Arnold and her three children were not at home, but her Staffordshire bull terrier Naz died of smoke inhalation.

Rowan, who also lived in July Road, denied assault and arson reckless as to whether life was endangered.

He was cleared of the assault but was found guilty of the arson charge after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

Prosecutors said the couple began a relationship last spring but Rowan turned out to be a “jealous and paranoid” boyfriend.

He received a police caution for smashing her front window during a row at the start of August.

Rowan was then arrested after lighted paper was put through her letterbox – but no charges were brought against him.

Lee Bonner, prosecuting, said the couple resumed their relationship but she decided to end it “once and for all” in November.

He alleged that Rowan let himself into her house with his key on November 5 and shoved her, bruising her arm.

Mr Bonner said the defendant then bombarded her with text messages between November 5 and 7.

She spent the night of November 7 at her mum’s address and left the dog locked in her kitchen.

Arson attack on a house in July Road, Anfield.

At around 7.25am the next day, a passer-by saw smoke coming from her house and called emergency services. Miss Arnold was alerted by a neighbour and ran home.

Rowan sent her a text at around 9am, which read: “Some random fella stopped me this morning saying your house smelt of burning. Is everything okay?”

Firefighters found the house was locked – which prosecutors said proved the arsonist had a key – and estimated that two fires were lit at around 7.30am.

Police spoke to Rowan’s boss at a catering company – around three miles away – who said he was due in work at 7.30am. CCTV footage showed he arrived late at 7.39am.

A co-worker said Rowan also told her he had been flagged down by a foreign man about a fire at his ex-girlfriend’s house.

She said he told her he could see the home’s windows were black, but told the man “nothing to do with me, I’m on my way to work”.

Rowan accepted having a key to the house but said he did not enter the building after the couple broke up.

He told the jury he didn’t see the home’s windows were black and repeated that the blaze was nothing to do with him.

Rowan – who also refused to tell police how he travelled to work that morning – said he was “gutted” when they split up because he loved her.

Mr Bonner said: “He was asked why he didn’t phone the emergency services or go to the house to alert or rescue her, but said it was nothing to do with him and he was going to work.”

Judge Alan Conrad, QC, adjourned sentencing until March 23 so a psychiatric report and victim impact statement could be obtained. He remanded Rowan in custody.

Read more Merseyside news here

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A disgruntled labourer had police officers fearing for their lives as he led them on a low-speed chase in a dumper truck while high on drugs, a court has heard.

Father-of-one Nicholas Churchill, 40, left a trail of destruction after taking the 20-tonne earth mover from his employer after complaining about its air conditioning, saying he was too hot to work.

He was followed by six police cars and a helicopter for two hours over 40 miles across Norfolk and Suffolk reaching a maximum speed of 30mph, ramming and wrecking three patrol vehicles along the way.

After he was jailed for dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while unfit through drugs, Norfolk Police released dramatic video footage of the chase.

Judge Anthony Bate sentenced Churchill, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, to 14 months in prison. He also banned him from driving for two years.

He said: "You left a trail of destruction and damaged police vehicles in your wake. It was a shocking piece of sustained dangerous driving."

Footage taken from a helicopter, CCTV and car-mounted cameras showed him veering wildly across busy roads, including the A140, A11 and A13, and dodging police road blocks.

Undated handout photo issued by Norfolk Police of Nicholas Churchill, 40, who has been jailed for dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving while unfit through drugs

An officer who was inside one of the cars said in a statement read to the court: "I thought I was going to die, I was petrified and never felt anything like this before in my career.

"I believe the vehicle was so large and heavy it could have driven over our police car."

A female officer involved in the pursuit said: "In my 30 year career, I’ve been kicked, punched and spat at. I’ve never been so petrified."

Prosecutor Andrew Oliver said that after driving around the Norwich ring road – forcing cars to swerve out of his way – Churchill headed to the A11 dual carriageway.

He continuously swerved in an "act of aggression" against police chasing him.

Officers deployed a stinger device to disable the truck but its tyres were so heavy that it did not work.

Churchill then drove the truck towards the police officer who was standing on the grass verge to deploy the stinger.

Shoppers scattered as his truck careered down a high street and over a pedestrianised square before coming to a halt near his home in Brandon, Suffolk.

Screen grabbed image taken from footage issued by Norfolk Police of Nicholas Churchill as he led police on a low speed chase in a dumper truck

Mr Oliver said Churchill had been working at a quarry near Spixworth, Norwich, at 12.36pm on July 20 last year.

He began his journey after being told the air conditioning could not be fixed and he should carry on working.

In fact, it was a mild day of about 13 degrees centigrade and he felt hot because he had been taking amphetamines, Mr Oliver added.

He said: "This is in itself a dangerous vehicle to be driven on public roads – it is not allowed and was not insured to do so.

"It caused massive disruption and a massive involvement by Norfolk and Suffolk police.

"He put the lives of members of the public and police officers at risk."

The damage to the police cars cost about £25,000 to repair.

Lindsay Cox, mitigating, said: "It may not have been hot that day but it had been a period of very hot weather and the defendant, for what’s it worth, had repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction at doing hot work in the hot cab of this vehicle.

"He was effectively told ‘like it or lump it, carry on working or go home’ and the red mist descended."

Detective Constable Andy Vinsen, from Norwich CID, said: "It’s a miracle no one was injured when the vehicle was driven on main roads through heavy traffic, which could have easily led to an innocent member of the public being hurt.

"During the pursuit, Churchill purposefully rammed into three police cars. Thankfully, no officers were in the cars at the point of impact, but this could have ended very differently.

"I am pleased that Churchill has been given a custodial sentence, which demonstrates that this is a serious matter and the courts will not tolerate such despicable behaviour."

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

This week marked yet another occasion where police had to deal with a man standing on top of a roof.

Police were forced to cordon off an area in Anfield and persuade a man down from the roof of the Dockers Club on Townsend Lane on Tuesday , which he had scaled after officers entered a property to carry out a drugs warrant.

Almost two hours later he was persuaded down and put into a police car. He remains in custody on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

In November the police were involved in a nine-hour stand off with a man who refused to come down from the roof of a house in Church Road, Walton.

Police raided the house leading to Stephen McCoy, 23, fleeing onto the roof in heavy rain at around 7.30am and staying up there for nine hours.

He was later sentenced to 17 years and nine months in jail for conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, assaults on two police officers and for breach of bail.

Another man staged a rooftop protest on top of St Helens town hall and declared infamous killer Raoul Moat as his hero.

Depressed and drunken Shaun Adamson was waving a banner saying “beware the police state” and smashing up roof tiles with a hammer. Adamson pleaded guilty to affray and criminal damage and was jailed for 14 months.

But why are men in Merseyside climbing on roof tops?

Men on roofs

The ECHO spoke to forensic psychologist Dr Keri Nixon, who works at the University of Chester’s Institute of Policing and also as a consultant forensic psychologist.

Dr Nixon said that there could be many different reasons why someone might go up a roof.

She said: “One reason could be that they have serious mental health issues going on, so it could be a cry for attention, as they know the emergency services will come out.”

She added: “Or it could be a power issue because they know once they get up there they’re going to be commanding the police, who will have to go into critical incident management.”

Dr Nixon also cited Contagion Theory – a theory of collective behaviour which argues that crowds cause people to act in a certain way – as another possible reason why there has been a pattern of roof top incidents in Merseyside.

The Bridgend suicide incidents – when there were multiple similar suicides among young people within the space of two years in Bridgend County Borough in South Wales – is an example of possible Contagion Theory.

Dr Nixon said: “We see Contagion Theory happen when there’s a suicide. If people who are depressed and have got suicidal ideation see somebody else doing it, it creates this influx.

“It could be that people in the area who are on the run from police and are anti-social in some way have seen people running onto roofs in the media and think ‘that’s a good idea’. It’s a simple effect.

“It’s dependent on the individual case but because they’ve seen it in the media they know it’s one way to get a lot of exposure and cause a lot of grief to the police. It’s not a rational decision. The man on Tuesday night got arrested in the end anyway – just after causing a lot of fuss.”

She added: “If it’s somebody that’s not got suicidal ideation and is on the run, it could just be a panic move – they panic and run up the roof because it’s the only way they can go.

“It’s interesting there’s been a spree of these incidents recently.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The coroner in the Hillsborough inquests began summing up the case this week.

Coroner Sir John Goldring’s summing up is expected to last at least three weeks and will see the jury reminded of the key evidence from the case.

The jury were told that when making their determinations they would have to complete a general questionnaire, as well as 96 individual questionnaires, which will record the times and causes of death, and records of inquests.

Birchwood Park, Warrington where the new Hillsborough inquests are being held

The questionnaire is split into 14 sections and includes questions about the policing, the emergency response, the design of the stadium, the role of the club and of the structural engineers and the behaviour of supporters on the day.

The jury will also be asked if the 96 victims were unlawfully killed.

The coroner told the jury that in order to answer yes to that question they would have to be sure that David Duckenfield was responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence of the 96.

Former South Yorkshire Police Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield, the overall Hillsborough match commander on the day of the disaster.

To reach that decision they would have to believe that Mr Duckenfield had a duty of care to the 96, that he breached that duty of care, that his breach caused their deaths and that his breach was grossly negligent.

The coroner spent most of the week summing up evidence the jury heard about stadium safety.

The jury was reminded of changes that were made to the stadium in the decade before the disaster, as well as certain changes that were not made.

Aerial view of the Leppings Lane end at Hillsborough

They were also reminded of concerns about the safety of the ground before the disaster and of the expert evidence of structural engineer John Cutlack – who gave evidence including that four of the crush barriers in the pen were too low.

On Friday the coroner moved onto the topic of the police planning and preparation of the match.

Among the areas he covered was the closure of the tunnel leading to the central pens, including at the 1988 semi-final.

Hillsborough Inquests

Aerial view of inner concourse, Leppings Lane end, Hillsborough

He told the jury they would have to consider whether senior officers knew about the tactic.

The court will resume on Monday with more evidence about the planning and preparation of the match but will not sit on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Read more: The 14 questions the Hillsborough jury has to answer Read more: Hillsborough jury to consider if David Duckenfield responsible for manslaughter Portraits of the 96 Liverpool fans lost at Hillsborough

*To navigate – hover over either side of the top section and click the arrows to move to the next entry OR click and drag the bottom section left/right to scroll through all dates

More Hillsborough reports in our dedicated channel here

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Five men arrested in dawn raids last year have admitted involvement in a £1.5m bank robbery conspiracy.

Police burst through doors in Aigburth , Garston, Dingle and Toxteth last November as part of an investigation into 22 robberies between 2009 and 2015.

Today at Liverpool Crown Court , Kieron Anthony Whittle, 35, of Little Parkfield Road, Aigburth; John Paul Stewart, 30, Waverley Road, Aigburth; Alan Robert Lea, 38, of Verney Crescent, Toxteth and Shaun James McDonald, 38, of Charleston Road, Toxteth, all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

Ian John Stewart, 48, formerly of Stonegate Drive, Toxteth , pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, while Gary Thomas McNeil, 35, formerly of Upper Pitt Street, Liverpool city centre, entered a not guilty plea today.

More stories from the courts

McNeil is due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on May 25, with proceedings estimated to last five days.

According to the charges the men are accused of conspiring to rob banks, building societies and post offices between September 24, 2009, and November 25, 2015.

The arrests were the end result of a joint 12 month investigation by Merseyside and Cheshire Police into the robberies, in which a total of £1.5m was stolen.

The five guilty men will be sentenced at the conclusion of McNeil’s trial, and all six were remanded in custody.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

An Anfield man who fled armed police on a scrambler bike while wielding a replica gun faces jail.

Michael Byrne, 25, was spotted riding the bike and holding an Olympic model starter pistol in the Edge Lane area on the afternoon of October 18 last year.

Armed police began a pursuit in the Prescot Road area which briefly entered the M62, before officers stopped the bike around 15 minutes later in Castleside Road, West Derby, at the junction with Meadow Lane and Parkside Drive,

Byrne, of Hanwell Street, today pleaded guilty to possession of an imitation firearm, with intent to cause fear of violence, and dangerous driving at Liverpool Crown Court.

Forensic’s examine what appears to be a small handgun/revolver

He will be sentenced following the trial later this year of co-accused Wayne Garnett, 24, of Vincent Street, Old Swan.

Garnett today admitted dangerous driving but denied the firearms offence.

The men are accused of causing Michaela Rimmer and Joseph Ainsworth to believe that unlawful violence would be used against them.

Both Byrne and Garnett were treated in hospital for minor injuries following the incident.

Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, remanded both men in custody.

News updates throughout the day in our live feed here

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man who rode a scrambler bike inside a shopping centre before leading police on a chase from Bootle to Liverpool faces jail, a judge warned.

James Kinsella was captured on CCTV riding through The Strand complex in Bootle, in front of stunned shoppers.

The 20-year-old then left the precinct and headed for Liverpool city centre , driving “erratically and dangerously” as he was monitored by a police helicopter.

Kinsella was in court today after admitting dangerous driving, driving without insurance, driving without a licence and not wearing protective headgear.

But his sentence was postponed because his failure to attend an earlier probation meeting meant there was no report available detailing his risk of reoffending.

Judge Graham Morrow told Trevor Parry-Jones, defending Kinsella, that his client was likely to be jailed.

Police were called to The Strand at around 1pm on January 7 following reports of two men riding around inside the building.

A 40-minute CCTV clip, most of it taken from the police helicopter, shows Kinsella, of Hawthorne Road, Bootle, trying to escape.

His bike was eventually dumped near St John’s Precinct in Liverpool.

Clayton Square in Liverpool City Centre.

Mr Parry-Jones said his client “mixing up the dates” was the reason for him not attending a probation meeting at the end of January.

Kinsella was released on bail, and allowed to stay at his mum’s address in Kirkdale .

He must remain at home between 7pm and 7am every day, will be electronically monitored and has to report to Marsh Lane police station three times a week.

Kinsella will be sentenced in March.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Merseyside heart doctor who forged prescriptions to feed his painkiller addiction was today spared jail.

Martin John Royle, 44, a consultant cardiologist at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Trust, wrote out bogus prescriptions in the names of family and colleagues to steal drugs.

He was today sentenced after admitting fraud and forgery offences.

Royle, formerly of Mather Avenue, Allerton , pleaded guilty to eleven offences – two of fraud and nine of forgery and dounterfeiting.

He was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and must pay £6,405 to cover prosecution and investigation costs

In September 2013, Royle wrote and submitted a prescription for the narcotic-like pain reliever, Tramadol, which was really for his own use, but named a colleague as the recipient without their knowledge.

Criminal carers

The incident was reported, and resulted in an investigation which revealed that Royle had forged at least 11 other prescriptions, using the names of colleagues and family members as the patient.

The prescriptions had been certified unwittingly by fellow medical staff.

Royle later wrote a letter of apology to the Trust admitting what he had done, citing his addiction to pain-killing drugs as one of the reasons for his behaviour.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals leaflet “Trust in Us” featuring drug addict Dr Martin Royle who received a suspended sentence following a fraud investigation supported by NHS Protect

Pauline Smith, Anti-Fraud Specialist at NHS Protect, said today: “The NHS and its patients expect the highest standards of integrity and professionalism from its staff, and this behaviour fell well below those standards.

“Martin Royle abused his senior and respected position as a cardiologist to steal from his employer, and the seriousness of this offence is reflected in the sentence today.

“All suspicions of fraud reported to NHS Protect will be followed up, and investigated wherever appropriate”.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The gloating messages of a Liverpool gang caught trying to flood the UK with high purity cocaine from Holland can today be revealed.

James Gradwell was a prime mover in a class A conspiracy who boasted of quaffing champagne and sniffing ‘Charlie’ on a ferry as he journeyed to the continent on a drugs trip.

The mob, four of whom have already been jailed for 35 years, stashed their packages in a secret space inside the transmission of a Seat Leon.

They used a Blackberry phone, which was nicknamed ‘PGP’ – standing for ‘pretty good privacy’, and was used by them to exchanges messages about their £1.25m plot.

Christopher Corry, 41; Ryan McQueen, 32; Jordan Talbot, 22 and William Marsh, 28, worked with Gradwell to move 6kg of cocaine into Merseyside, which was uncovered by detectives close to Crosby .

Corry, of Halifax Crescent, Thornton , was jailed for 11-and-a-half years, McQueen, of Laurel Drive, Laurel Vale, County Armagh, got six years, Talbot, of Elson Road, Formby , received six-and-a-half years and Marsh, of Rock Lane, Melling , was locked up for ten years and eight months.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the drugs were capable of being bulked up with adulterants to make 22.5kg of street product.

In one of the gang’s messages, read: “Av taped these bits up quite a bit coz I wanted to make sure they were in the slot, so make sure you’ve got a Stanley{knife}, lar.

“Uve got to make sure they go all the way back and the last one will just about squeeze in.”

The reply said: “The new 1 is gonna fit 10{kilos} anyway so ya won’t have a problem with that 1.

“Happy days…we’ll have a good system going, we’re gonna get a proper stash car for over here soon as well, lad, then we’re tight when we work.”

Just before the drugs handover in January, 2014, Gradwell travelled to Hull and caught a ferry to Rotterdam in Holland, texting others and boasting of drinking champagne and being ‘on the Charlie.’{cocaine}

Today Gradwell, 24, was in court after pleading guilty to conspiring to supplying Class A drugs.

His sentencing, at Liverpool Crown Court , will be completed on Thursday.

He told prosecutors: “I accept that I was aware that this vehicle was in some way connected to the importation of drugs.

“I was paid 2,000 Euros to carry out the two trips.”

Prosecutor Ian Harris said his role was far bigger, and said: “This defendant is an integral and trusted participant in a professionally organised drugs conspiracy.

“He played a significant role and his asserted knowledge is an attempt to dilute his role to the absolute minimum.”

He said the 6kg importation was to be the first of several in a very lucrative business and that during the conspiracy, the gang travelled to Turkey, France, Spain, Holland and Dubai.

Julian Linskill, defending Gradwell, of no fixed address, said his client was a landscape gardener who’d been lured into the drug plot by his friends.

He added: “He comes from a wholly respectable background. His father is a senior prison officer at HMP Liverpool.

“His parents are devastated at their son’s involvement in this crime.”

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A gang of cannabis growers who set up five different farms in Liverpool and Wirral were sentenced today.

Three of the men were jailed for a total of six years and eight months at Liverpool Crown Court while two people were given suspended sentences for their part in the conspiracy which saw 74 plants, worth £66,000, recovered from one farm alone.

They also bypassed electricity meters to avoid paying around £35k in bills for power used to grow their drugs.

All five pleaded guilty to conspiracy to produce cannabis and conspiracy to abstract electricity after police raided cannabis farms in Allerton , Prescot and Wallasey .

Charlotte Atherton, prosecuting, said it was a “sophisticated and dangerous” way of tampering with electricity.

Johnathan Kenney, aged 28, of St Domingo Vale, Everton , was jailed for two years for his role at two Allerton cannabis farms – one on Streatham Avenue and the other on Alverstone Road.

Kenney is already in prison for knocking down and killing pensioner Mona Thornborough , who was on her mobility scooter, while driving at 52mph in a 30mph zone. He also has convictions for offences including possession of cannabis and possession with intent to supply cannabis.

Police found 74 cannabis plants in the Alverstone Road property.

Craig Tennant, 40, of East Float Quay in Wallasey, had Jensen’s number stored under “dude” on his mobile phone, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He has seven previous convictions for 10 offences, none drug-related.

Ms Atherton described his and Fay Saunders’ operation in a property on Geneva Road, Wallasey, as of a “commercial scale”.

Their fingerprints were found on light bulb holders above 70 cannabis plants in the property, where the electricity had again been bypassed.

Saunders, 46, of Marmion Road, Aigburth , also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and was handed a 12 month suspended sentence and ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work. She has no previous convictions.

Scott Wells, 24, of Wilson Road, Prescot, was given a six month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 60 hours of community service after police raided his property and discovered that, once again, the electricity meter had been bypassed.

They were all connected by a “go-to electrician”, Paul Jensen, who was paid in cash to bypass meters.

The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool Crown Court.

Jensen, of St Mary’s Road, Garston , has 27 previous convictions for 45 offences including possession of cannabis.

The mobile number of Jensen was stored in Wells’ phone under the name ‘Spark’. Wells also had no previous convictions.

Judge Elizabeth Nicholls, who sentenced Jensen to three years and two months behind bars, said it was a “particularly dangerous method which carries a significant risk of extraneous metalwork becoming live.”

She told Jensen, 51: “You are not the brains behind this operation, you are the go-to spark.”

Judge Nicholls told the group that cannabis is “not a harmless substance” and said it “prevents the user from engaging with society in any meaningful way.”

Detective Sergeant Richie Smith said: “These offenders are only interested in making a fast buck, they don’t care about the potential health consequences for those who use their drugs, or the dangers they are creating for those who may live next door to their illegal enterprise.

“The knock-on effects can be devastating for decent, law-abiding people who live there and we would continue to urge anyone with any information about cannabis production in their area to get in contact so we can continue to take action.”

A sixth member of the group, Michael Casey, had his sentencing adjourned for three weeks so he can be assessed for a drugs rehabilitation order.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Liam Duffy, who is serving a 20 year sentence for the killing of a Liverpool teenager, helped run a heroin operation worth £4.6m from his jail cell, a court has heard.

Three members of a drugs gang appeared at Norwich Crown Court after police smashed a conspiracy organised by Duffy, who is in jail in Rochdale for his part in the revenge killing of 19-year-old gang leader Liam Smith in 2006.

The court heard that the conspiracy came to light after officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) stopped a van in Norwich and recovered 2kg of heroin with an estimated street value of up to £200,000.

Following the find, in August 2014, Tony Rimmer and Carl Fairfield, both from Liverpool, and Rocky Gamble, from Norwich, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Their arrests prompted an investigation which uncovered mobile phone evidence that Rimmer and Fairfield were involved in bringing heroin from Liverpool to Norfolk in an operation which the prosecution say was organised by Duffy, using banned mobile phones, while in prison.

William Carter, prosecuting, said: “This was a conspiracy to supply heroin, including the transport of a large quantity of heroin from Liverpool to Norwich for onward distribution.”

Mr Carter said that at no stage did Duffy have any physical contact with the drugs as he was a serving prisoner, but used his mobile phones to contact both the Liverpool end of the operation and the one in Norwich.

He said: “He is the individual who is putting the two ends, Liverpool and Norwich together. He was the common link. The Crown say he was organising matters.”

Duffy, 35, who appeared via video link from prison, has admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs, but denies he played an organising role. Rimmer, 30, formerly of Petherick Road, and Fairfield, 39, formerly of Totnes Road, both Croxteth, admitted conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Liam Duffy, who was convicted of the manslaughter of Liam Smith

Mr Carter said that Rimmer and Fairfield were at the Liverpool end of the operation and they played “significant roles” by delivering the drugs to Norfolk and then picking up the cash for payment.

He said that Fairfield would use hire vehicles to drive to Norfolk to make the deliveries.

In final raid in Norwich in August 2014 police recovered £39,825 in cash.

Another defendant Rocky Gamble of Avenue Road, Norwich, who has also admitted conspiracy to supply Class A, will be sentenced at a later date.

Duffy was convicted of manslaughter in 2007 following a trial over the 2006 killing of Liam Smith, a prominent member of the Norris Green-based Strand gang.

Mr Smith was shot dead outside Altcourse prison in August 2006 as part of an ongoing feud between the Strand gang and the rival Croxteth Crew.

The sentencing hearing has been adjourned and there will also be a further hearing to decide Duffy’s basis of plea.

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Merseyside heart doctor who forged prescriptions to feed his painkiller addiction was dismissed from his job.

Martin John Royle, 44, who was yesterday handed a suspended jail sentence, wrote out bogus prescriptions in the names of family and colleagues to steal drugs.

It today emerged that Royle, who was a consultant cardiologist at St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, no longer works there.

A spokesman said his employment was “terminated following suspension” in 2013.

It is understood Royle, formerly of Mather Avenue, Allerton , most recently worked as a private consultant.

In September 2013, Royle wrote and submitted a prescription for the narcotic-like pain reliever, Tramadol, which was really for his own use, but named a colleague as the recipient without their knowledge.

The incident was reported, and resulted in an investigation which revealed that Royle had forged at least 11 other prescriptions, using the names of colleagues and family members as the patient.

St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals leaflet “Trust in Us” featuring drug addict Dr Martin Royle.

The prescriptions had been certified unwittingly by fellow medical staff.

Royle later wrote a letter of apology to the Trust admitting what he had done, citing his addiction to pain-killing drugs as one of the reasons for his behaviour.

He pleaded guilty to eleven offences – two of fraud and nine of forgery and counterfeiting – and was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He was told to pay £6,405 to cover prosecution and investigation costs.

Pauline Smith, Anti-Fraud Specialist at NHS Protect, said: “Martin Royle abused his senior and respected position as a cardiologist to steal from his employer, and the seriousness of this offence is reflected in the sentence.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Liverpool man masterminded a £1m heroin racket from his prison cell – while awaiting sentence over another drugs racket.

Thomas Kehoe, 27, was on remand at Exeter prison facing sentence for his role in a £5.8m drugs conspiracy between Liverpool and Devon.

But while awaiting his eventual 12-year sentence in July last year, Kehoe continued his trade from the comfort of his prison cell, using smuggled mobile phones and SIM cards.

He was today ordered to spend an extra six years behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Exeter Crown Court heard how £1m of heroin was moved from Liverpool to Plymouth at Kehoe’s behest.

Also jailed were Liverpool men Steven Kehoe, 29, and Daniel O’Flaherty, 22, for five years and three months, and six years and nine months respectively.

Andrew Roberts, 33, from Wigan, was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

All admitted the same offence as Kehoe, who was part of an 18-strong drugs gang jailed last year for a combined 140 years.

The 18-strong drugs gang jailed in 2015:

VIEW GALLERY

Its leaders lived the high life with their vast illicit profits – splashing cash on VIP boxes at Anfield and far-flung holidays.

They used a tiny cottage in a Devon village as their base to peddle cocaine and heroin shipped out of Merseyside.

Leader Daniel Smith and his lieutenants used a network of gophers and couriers to carry out their dirty work as they lived a jet-set lifestyle, despite having no legitimate source of income.

When those at the bottom of the chain were arrested, police said the gang would simply enlist others to do their bidding.

Kehoe had been described as a “key right-hand-man” in that drugs plot.

A warrant has been issued for Liverpool man John Hunt, 50, who failed to appear for sentence.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Leaders of a Liverpool drugs gang lived the high life with their vast illicit profits – splashing cash on VIP boxes at Anfield and far-flung holidays.

But the 18-strong gang of crooks were today waking up to the prospect of a combined 140 years in prison after being locked up over their £5.8m conspiracy.

They used a tiny cottage in a Devon village as their base to peddle cocaine and heroin shipped out of Merseyside.

Leader Daniel Smith and his lieutenants used a network of gophers and couriers to carry out their dirty work as they lived a jet-set lifestyle, despite having no legitimate source of income.

When those at the bottom of the chain were arrested, police said the gang would simply enlist others to do their bidding.

Watch: Meeting between drug dealers Daniel Smith and Robert Murphy

Video loading Click to play

Vans, adapted so that drugs could be stored in hidden compartments, were used to ship the drugs in bulk to the South Coast.

The operation lasted for at least a year before being broken up by Devon and Cornwall police in an undercover operation codenamed Reform.

Heroin and cocaine with an estimated street value of £1.25m and cash in excess of £91,500 was intercepted.

But detectives believe the true value of the drugs being sold approached the £6m mark.

Fanatical Liverpool supporter Smith, who moved to Paignton, Devon, headed up the drugs racket alongside Paul Fagan. Key right-hand-men Thomas Kehoe and Kevin Deary controlled the operation from Liverpool.

Robert Murphy was a trusted lieutenant and Andrew Cleland acted as the stash man.

Smith, Kehoe and Deary were instrumental in organising the supply of the drugs, moving their men and resources around the country to ensure that the operation ran smoothly.

Brothers Neil and John Cupit played a major part in the conspiracy. John, at the Liverpool end, distributing the drugs for Kehoe, and Neil organising the storing and distribution of the drugs in Devon.

Police told how Smith would entertain contacts in a private box at Anfield on his visits back to the city and revealed that those at the top of the gang enjoyed a raft of foreign holidays.

Detective Constable Paul Dorothy said: “Many of these men had no obvious sources of income, yet enjoyed lavish lifestyles from their role in the drug trade.

“Ian Ross played a major part in drug dealing within Torbay, and Mark Worrall was employed as a stash man, to store and hide the drugs on behalf of the gang after Cleland was arrested.

“The gang used a number of men to courier drugs and money between Liverpool and the South West. Jordan Caldwell, Donald Macaskill, John Wilson, Michael Griffith, John Fagan, Paul Wade, Lee Sumner, Ashley Tierney and Jordan Taylor all acted as couriers at times throughout the course of the operation.”

Police proved that there had been at least 48 courier runs from Liverpool to Devon in a 12-month period.

DC Dorothy added: “A number of warrants were executed simultaneously in October at addresses in Warrington, Liverpool and Torbay.

“As more people were arrested, the more desperate the gang became and once they had no-one else to turn to, senior members of the gang including Neil Cupit and Thomas Kehoe were forced to do the dirty work themselves.

“We arrested Cupit in December in possession of nearly half a kilo of heroin with a street value of £50,000 and found £6,700 in Thomas Kehoe’s property in Liverpool with the fingerprints of a Torquay drug dealer.

“We are pleased with the sentences given out to this gang by the court, and we hope that this will act as a deterrent.”

Seventeen of the 19 suspects pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. The remaining two were found guilty following trial.

Sentences:

Top-tier:

Daniel Smith, 29 from Liverpool, 13 years, 4 months in prison

Thomas Kehoe, 26 from Liverpool 12 years, 3 months in prison

Kevin Deary, 28 from Torquay 9 years, 3 months in prison

Paul Fagan, 32 from Paignton 10 years in prison

Andrew Cleland, 41 from Torquay 10 years in prison

Robert Murphy, 33 from Brixham 7 years, 6 months in prison

Ian Ross, 37 from Paignton 6 years, 8 months in prison

Mark Worrall, 51 from Brixham, 2 years, 2 months in prison

Neil Cupit, 30 from Liverpool 8 years in prison

John Cupit, 32 from Liverpool 6 years in prison

Drug Couriers:

Jordan Caldwell, 27 from Liverpool 6 years in prison

Donald Macaskill, 56 from Liverpool 9 years, 4 months in prison

John Wilson, 49 from Liverpool 10 years in prison

Michael Griffith, 43 from Wolverhampton 6 years, 8 months in prison

John Fagan, 42 from Liverpool 4 years in prison

Paul Wade, 41, from Liverpool 2 years, 8 months in prison

Lee Sumner, 37 from Liverpool 6 years, 8 months in prison

Ashley Tierney, 28 from Paignton 5 years, 10 months in prison

Jordan Taylor, 20 from Paignton 3 years, 4 months in prison

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

These are the shocking injuries caused by a “lunatic” driver who mowed down a five-year-old boy as he walked along the pavement two days after Christmas.

“Disgraceful” Anthony Cahill took his girlfriend’s BMW 5 Series despite not having a licence or insurance and ploughed into little Riley Flaherty, just yards from his front door in Kirkby.

The youngster was dragged under the high-powered vehicle after the speeding 30-year-old skidded round the corner on two wheels and crashed through two walls.

Riley Flaherty

Miraculously, he avoided any life-threatening injury as Cahill fled the scene in Kirkby. He was later found hiding in a cupboard at home.

Park Brow Community Primary School pupil Riley narrowly avoided needing plastic surgery to repair the huge gash on his ankle, but has constant nightmares about the horror crash.

Riley Flaherty, aged five, and the injuries he sustained after a illegal driver careered into him as he walked home in Kirkby over Christmas

Describing the incident, on December 27, at the junction with Ravenhead Avenue and Shirdley Avenue, mum Leanne, 34, told the ECHO: “My mum had the five children on Boxing Night.

“We were bringing them home to play with their toys. We heard the car before we saw it as the engine was really roaring.

“We told all the kids to wait, but heard the screech of tyres, and saw the BMW come round the corner on two wheels.

“It mounted the kerb, hit the wall, carried on turning, and then hit Riley.

“We feared the worst but amazingly, he had mainly cuts and bruises.

“Someone from above was definitely looking after him that day.

“It was horrible to see. It brought back bad memories for me as my brother was killed on the East Lancs Road 18 years ago.”

Dad Edward, 37, an IT worker, who now suffers anxiety attacks. He said: “We thought Riley was really badly injured, and immediately saw the blood on his legs.”

The parents also slammed smiling Cahill’s 18 month jail term which he received on Monday after admitting aggravated vehicle taking, driving without insurance, refusing to provide a specimen of breath and damaging a the police car.

Anthony Cahill jailed for aggravated vehicle taking

Leanne said: “He’s going to get out in nine months on a tag and could go on to kill someone else.

“He got behind the wheel of car, despite past driving offences, and drove like a lunatic. What’s to stop him doing exactly the same again?”

They also revealed how their four other children, aged 12, 10, seven, and four, witnessed the collision and are now too scared to walk to their grandparents home, just 17 doors away from their own house.

One of the children repeatedly asks: “Is the bad man still living with the police?”

Ravenhead Avenue, in Kirkby

Former drug dealer Cahill, of Rockford Avenue, Kirkby, had nipped out in his pyjamas to buy some food without telling his sleeping partner that he was taking her new car.

Cahill, appearing for his third aggravated vehicle taking offence, was banned from driving for four years

Judge Alan Conrad, QC, told him: “There may be worse cases of aggravated vehicle taking but it is pretty hard to imagine that there could be.”

Stories from the courts

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A teacher has been accused of the rape and indecent assault of a 15-year-old pupil who had a “crush” on him in the nineties.

Malcolm Nicholson, 46, a former science teacher at St Edmund Arrowsmith school which was in Prescot at the time but later moved to Whiston , is alleged to have taken advantage of the “vulnerable” girl, now in her thirties, after telling her he “wanted to be her first.”

Nicholson, who now lives in Morton Carr Lane in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, denies the charges and is standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

His accuser came forward in 2014, after watching news reports on the crimes of notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile and realising: “I was like those victims.”

Lee Bonner, prosecuting, said: “The complainant thinks that the defendant realised, as time and lessons went by, that she had a crush on him. And the complainant started to think that it wasn’t just a one way crush; that the defendant seemed to have feelings for her and that they began to flirt with each other.

“This progressed to an occasion when he kept the complainant back after a lesson and asked her if she wanted to meet up outside of school time. And she agreed.”

The court heard Nicholson picked the girl up from outside a local pub after she told her parents she was going to a friend’s house, and took her back to his address.

Mr Bonner said the defendant repeatedly told the girl that “know one could know they were together,” and that on the first occasion they kissed and talked, but nothing more.

After several more meetings the complainant realised that Nicholson wanted “things to go further,” the court heard.

The jury were played footage of the woman’s police interview, in which she described the encounter.

She said: “He told me I would really like to be your first. I got myself undressed and I got into his bed, and then he came and he just lied (sic) on top of me, not completely but a bit to one side, and he was touching me and touching my breasts.”

The court heard Nicholson performed a sex act on the complainant, who then decided she did not want things to go any further.

The woman told officers: “I just remember saying to him I don’t want it, I don’t want it, I’m not ready.” She said Nicholson told her “it won’t hurt, I promise” before raping her.

The court heard the pair had sex on one more occasion, when Nicholson took her to stay at his parents house in Middlesbrough, who were away on holiday.

In her interview she said he took her to see the film Indecent Proposal before taking her to a nightclub and having sex with her back at the house, although he is not charged in relation to this incident.

The Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts, Liverpool Crown Court.

The court also heard Nicholson tried to buy the woman’s silence after begging her to not involve the police in a series of texts and phone calls.

In a phone call, which was also heard by the woman’s husband, Nicholson allegedly offered to pay the woman £200,000 not to involve the police, and later agreed to make an initial transfer of £8,000.

However the woman claimed she withdrew the £8,000 from her account and burned it in her back garden, because it made her feel “powerful.”

She told the court she was inspired to contact him when an old school friend told her Nicholson was on Twitter .

After obtaining his phone number she messaged him to say “I have issues with what you did to me when I was 15 years old, and having a school reunion has brought it all back.”

In one message she asked him: “Why did you have sex with me when I was 15?”

Nicholson allegedly replied: “It was for my own insecurities.”

When she told him she was planning to inform the police he allegedly said: “Oh God, oh please don’t, I will lose everything, I will lose my wife and children and my job.”

Giving evidence in court, the complainant said she had wanted to get Nicholson’s name on her account “to prove what he had done” so that she could “expose him as a paedophile.”

She will be cross examined tomorrow (Wednesday).

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/