Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the summer of 2023.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
17. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man has been jailed for engaging in sexual activity with a teenage girl in East Sussex, Sussex Police have said. Police said William Hobden forced himself upon the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, without her consent. Police said that, among the charges, the 29-year-old was charged with engaging in sexual activity contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “Hobden, a road worker formerly of Queens Road, East Grinstead, denied the charges and stood trial at Lewes Crown Court in February this year. He was found guilty of one count of engaging in sexual activity contrary to the Sexual Offences Act. On May 2 he was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison. The court also imposed a restraining order and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to restrict Hobden’s access to children after he is released.” Police said the victim received support from specially-trained officers and said that DNA evidence showed how Hobden had committed the offences. Photo: Sussex Police
18. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man who subjected his partner to controlling and coercive behaviour – and threatened her with a knife – has been jailed, according to Sussex Police. Simeon Harry, 35, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour – spanning 18-months – and threatening another person with a knife in a private place, police said. Police said he was sentenced to 42-months’ imprisonment when he appeared at Lewes Crown Court on March 30, 2023. He was also issued with an indefinite restraining order preventing future contact with the victim. Detailing the nature of the offences, a police spokesperson said: “Officers responded to reports of a disturbance at an address in Peacehaven on September 2, 2022. A woman at the address reported being threatened by Simeon Harry, who had fled the scene. Officers spoke to the woman, aged 22, in more depth and she revealed a history of coercive and controlling behaviour from Harry spanning 18-months. She spoke of how she wasn’t allowed out of the property on her own and felt isolated from friends and family. She said she was frightened of Harry and his behaviour, particularly since she became pregnant.” Police launched an investigation and Harry was arrested. He was immediately recalled to prison for a ‘breach of previous licence conditions’, which included not to contact the victim, police said. Photo: Sussex Police
19. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A driver who lost control of his vehicle in a fatal collision in St Leonards has been jailed. Gary Cornwall (pictured) accelerated out of the junction of Gillsmans Hill onto The Green and mounted a kerb. The BMW collided with pedestrian David Evans, 72, from Hastings, who was walking on the pavement and was declared dead at the scene, said police. A court hearing heard how Cornwall, 57, of Woodland Vale Road, St Leonards, was over the legal alcohol limit at the time. Police said witnesses heard the tyres of the BMW screeching as Cornwall left the junction and appeared to be drifting in the road at 10am on June 16, 2022. Cornwall denied intentionally drifting but admitted to intentionally accelerating harshly out of the junction, police added. He failed a roadside breath test and more than an hour and a half after the incident he tested positive for 68 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of breath, said police. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Cornwall said he had consumed homemade wine the night before and had not realised he was over the alcohol limit, police said. There were serious vehicle defects which meant the vehicle was considered to be in a ‘dangerous’ condition, with inoperative power steering, no anti-lock braking, and tyre treads below 1.6mm on the rear tyres, police said. The court was told how Cornwall also had a previous conviction for drug-driving in 2015. Judge Jeremy Gold KC said Cornwall had carried out an ‘inherently dangerous manoeuvre’. Police said Cornwall was jailed for four years and eight months, and was disqualified from driving for six years and fours months. Photo: Sussex Police
20. Locked up in Sussex 2023: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years after pleading guilty to the murder of Tommy Cooper’s niece in Eastbourne, police have said. Tony King, 60, of Cornfield Terrace, Eastbourne, appeared at Hove Crown Court on June 23 to be sentenced after he had admitted at a hearing to killing 68-year-old Sabrina Cooper just before Christmas last year. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in a public place. Officers said that the court heard that police and paramedics were called to her home in Connaught Road around 6.45pm on Sunday, December 18. King will serve 22 years and 182 days due to time already spent on remand. Photo: Sussex Police