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.
9. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
An offender who committed sexual offences against a teenage girl in Sussex has been jailed for the abuse. Paul Latham was found guilty at Hove Crown Court of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with an underage girl in Sussex. The court heard how Latham, then aged 47, knew the girl was underage, but engaged in sexual activity with her. In November last year, the jury found him guilty of two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with the victim. He was found not guilty of rape. Latham, 65, unemployed of Wicklands Avenue, Saltdean, was sentenced to nine years in prison by His Honour Judge Jeremy Gold KC. He will serve a minimum of six years before he can be considered for parole, and will remain on the sex offenders register for life. The judge also imposed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order which restricts Latham’s access to children. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described how she had felt degraded because of the abuse, and continues to have anxiety. She felt that Latham had taken advantage of her as a child, but is now rebuilding her life and is happy that justice has been served. Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Andy Lawrence said the victim received support from specially-trained officers after she made her report in 2018. With support from Detective Constable Lisa Hampson from the Sexual Offences Investigation Team, they were able to bring the charges against Latham to secure the conviction. Photo: Sussex Police
10. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A former children’s football coach has been convicted of further sexual offences committed against young boys in Burgess Hill. Robert Michael Blackmore, known then as Mike Blackmore, was a volunteer coach in Burgess Hill during the 1990s. He was convicted in 2004 for 11 counts of indecent assault on boys in the early 1990s, and was jailed for seven years. Upon his release, Blackmore changed his name to Michael O’Neill. In 2020, a new victim came forward with allegations, and Blackmore attended a voluntary interview to answer the further questions. Detective Constable Chris Smith, formerly from the Complex Abuse Unit, investigated the new offences, and Blackmore was charged. At Lewes Crown Court on January 13, Blackmore, 71, of High Street, Stockbridge, Hampshire, admitted six further charges of indecent assault on a boy in the early 1990s. Dale Sullivan, prosecuting, told the court how Blackmore had groomed the victim by taking him on football trips. While alone, Blackmore indecently assaulted the victim. This included while on trips away from his family, and in his car in isolated locations. The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, described the impact on his family and himself, with the impact of anxiety, nervousness and depression. “The effects of this abuse will never go away, and came close to destroying my family.” he said. The victim says the abuse has left him with trauma, and described Blackmore as a “coward” and a “predator”. His Honour Judge David Rennie sentenced Blackmore to a further six and a half years in prison for the historic offences. Photo: Sussex Police
11. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A man who burgled three businesses in Bexhill town centre has been jailed. Police said Alan Richardson, 49, of Devonshire Road, Bexhill, appeared before Lewes Crown Court for sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of burglary at an earlier hearing. He had also admitted to interfering with a vehicle in St Leonards. Police said he was sentenced to a total of 16 months imprisonment, after also breaching the conditions of a suspended sentence from November 2021. The court heard that Richardson broke into Pebbles on the Beach restaurant in Marina Court Avenue in the early hours of Saturday, October 29, last year and stole a till containing a small amount of cash. Police said four weeks later, between Wednesday, November 23, and Thursday, November 24, Richardson broke into IMG Chartered Accountants in Endwell Road and stole cash, a crystal decanter, two glasses in a box worth £70 and a Nescafe coffee jar. During the early hours of Thursday, November 24, he also burgled Poppyseed Bakery in Western Road and made off with a large quantity of cash, police added. Richardson had also damaged a vehicle, in Maze Hill, St Leonards, on October 4, police said. Photo: Sussex Police
12. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between January and April
A builder who murdered two women, one of whose bodies has never been found, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Mark Brown, 41, of Squirrel Close, St Leonards, was convicted at Hove Crown Court on December 1, 2022 of killing Alex Morgan, 34, and Leah Ware, 32. He was sentenced to life imprisonment today on Friday, January 13 with a minimum of 49 years, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Alex’s remains were discovered by police at a building site where Brown worked, but no trace has ever been found of Leah’s body. The CPS said Brown met both women through the internet and was in a relationship with Leah before her disappearance. Brown owned a remote property where both women were last seen alive, with CCTV footage and mobile data placing them at and around the location. After Brown was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Alex in November 2021, police searched the building site where he worked and found her remains alongside some of her personal belongings, the CPS added. Further searches of his work van led Kent Police to find prescription medicine belonging to Leah, but after an extensive investigation by Sussex Police, there was no evidence to suggest she was alive. Brown attempted to conceal Leah’s murder by continuing to collect her medication and withdraw cash from her accounts, the CPS said. The CPS said Brown pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Alex, but continued to deny any involvement in Leah’s disappearance, alternating between claims she had passed away or that she was an inpatient at various psychiatric hospitals. However, the overwhelming evidence in the case saw a jury at Hove Crown Court convict him of both murders, the CPS added. Photo: Sussex Police