Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the first third of the year.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
45. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A St Leonards man who absconded from crown court during his trial for rape and sexual assault more than eight years ago has been jailed after being spotted on the BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal by German police. Sussex Police said detectives were determined not to give up the hunt for Sarbaz Najmadeen Ali who went on the run. Police said Ali, 36, formerly of Stockleigh Road, St Leonards, was found guilty of committing a rape, an attempted rape, assault by penetration and two counts of sexual assault against his victim in Hastings in 2013. Ali had been granted bail by Hove Crown Court that allowed him to leave the dock during the lunch break in his trial in September 2014, as long as he did not leave the building, police said. However, part way through the judge's summing up during the hearing, Ali fled from the court and disappeared. He was convicted by a jury in his absence, Sussex Police said. A warrant was issued by the judge for the arrest of Ali, who had previously worked as a barber in the town and an appeal to trace him were issued by Sussex Police. Police said he was later featured on BBC’s Crimewatch ‘Most Wanted’ appeal following his conviction. An officer from the German Polizei in Regensburg, on conducting research into Ali while he was in custody in Germany for suspected offences, recognised him from the Crimewatch photographs. He told Sussex Police that Ali was in their custody. However, Ali was extradited to France for offences he had committed there before a European Arrest Warrant could be executed, said police. Ali was convicted of a sexual assault committed in France and given a one-year prison sentence, said police. Sussex Police had to wait until he had served this sentence before the European Arrest warrant could be executed. He was arrested in France and extradited back to the UK. He appeared at Lewes Crown Court on April 5 where he was sentenced to a total of seven years imprisonment for the offences, plus a further three years on an extended licence. Photo: Sussex Police
46. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A burglar has been jailed after being identified by an Eastbourne Police Community Support Officer who responded to information from the community. PCSO Julian Williams was following-up on concerns from Old Town residents around a man behaving suspiciously in the early hours of February 16, 2023. PCSO Williams was sent images of the suspect. Establishing that there had been two burglaries that night in Kirk Way and Colwood Crescent, PCSO Williams carried out further enquiries and was able to retrieve more footage and identify the man as 46-year-old Allan Beaton. Officers from the Neighbourhood Response Teams then attended Beaton’s address in Lennox Close, Eastbourne, and recovered multiple items of stolen property, which was then returned to the victims of both break-ins. Beaton was arrested on suspicion of two counts of burglary. During his arrest, police said that he also tried to kick, headbutt and bite officers and was further arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker. He pleaded guilty at Hove Crown Court on March 20 and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for each burglary, to run concurrently, and three months for the assault to run consecutively. Photo: Sussex Police
47. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A pensioner from Bognor Regis has been found guilty of sex offences against a child more than half a century ago, Sussex Police have said. Police said Terrence Whiffin appeared before Portsmouth Crown Court for trial, which started on February 20, charged with 10 offences, including rape and indecent assault, in the late sixties and early seventies. A police spokesperson said: “A jury unanimously found him guilty of all 10 charges against him, and on 28 March he was sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment, to serve a minimum of two-thirds.” Police said the victim came forward in 2018. Police added that Whiffin, 74, of Servite Close, Bognor Regis, ‘strenuously denied’ the allegations, claiming they were a ‘total fabrication’. Photo: Sussex Police
48. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A convicted drug-dealer has been jailed for raping a woman in an alleyway in West Sussex, Sussex Police has confirmed. Police said the victim was walking alone through Memorial Gardens, Crawley in the early hours of September 1, 2022 when she approached a man for a cigarette. Sussex Police said he told her to follow him, which she did, and together they walked into an alleyway in Three Bridges Road. It was here that the man raped her. police added. Sussex Police said the victim managed to walk back towards the town centre following the ordeal and the incident was reported to police. A forensic submission was completed, which returned a DNA hit for Florin Cotoi, 46, of no fixed address, police confirmed. Sussex Police said he was arrested and found to be in possession of clothing matching the description provided by the victim. He was charged with rape but denied the offence, and the case went for trial, police added. A jury found him guilty and at Lewes Crown Court on March 29 he was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment, Sussex Police confirmed. Police said the offence activated a suspended sentence in May 2022 for two counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs – diamorphine and crack cocaine. He was subsequently handed a further 12-month consecutive sentence, taking the total sentence to nine years, Sussex Police added. Police said he is also been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. Photo: Sussex Police