Here we take a look at some of the criminals locked up during the summer of 2024.
All of the information below comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
29. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A prolific Crawley criminal has been jailed for a spate of violent incidents. Danny Williams was sentenced to 44 months’ imprisonment when he appeared before Lewes Crown Court on May 31. On September 7, 2022, at around 1pm, Williams stole a Mercedes Sprinter van from a delivery driver in Brighton Road and was later identified on CCTV when exiting the vehicle. A month later, on October 7, 2022 at 11am, it was heard that Williams strangled a 52-year-old man in an unprovoked attack. Police were called following the incident in Broadfield Barton, in which after Williams threatened the man, he attacked his victim. On October 15, 2022, Williams approached another man in Broadfield Barton at around 9pm and asked for money. When the victim, a 32-year-old man, refused, he was threatened with a knife. He then went to a 45-year-old woman’s house on October 17, 2022 shortly before 3pm and threatened her. Williams, 45, of no fixed address, appeared before Lewes Crown Court on February 2, 2024 and pleaded guilty to two counts of threatening a person with a knife, intentional strangulation, common assault, theft of a motor vehicle, driving without a licence and assault by beating. Photo: Sussex Police
30. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A Bexhill man who raped and sexually assaulted two young girls has been sentenced to 28 years. John Armsby, 47, of Ninfield Road in Bexhill, repeatedly sexually abused two girls under the age of 13 between 2017 and 2022. The offences were reported to Sussex Police on January 24, 2022, and Armsby was arrested two days later. His young victims and their families were given specialist support by Sussex Police officers and our partners. Armsby’s home was searched, and digital devices were found containing indecent images of children. He was subsequently charged with five counts of rape of a child under 13, five counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13, assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child. A jury found him guilty of all charges at Lewes Crown Court on March 26, 2024. At the same court on June 6, Armsby was sentenced to 24 years in prison, with another four to be spent on extended licence. He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, indefinite Restraining Orders against both victims and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life. Photo: Sussex Police
31. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A Hastings man who raped a vulnerable woman has been jailed for ten years. Nathan Ackerley, 28, of School Road in Hastings, raped a woman as she slept after taking her back to his home in October, 2021. She woke up during the attack, in which he had cut her clothing, managed to escape and came directly to a police station to report the crime. While she was supported by specialist officers, Ackerley was located and arrested on suspicion of rape. A search of his phone found he had taken pictures of the victim while she was asleep. He was subsequently charged with rape, sexual assault by touching, sexual assault by penetration and voyeurism. On July 19, he was convicted of all charges and on July 22 he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, with a minimum period of two thirds. He was also given a restraining order against the victim and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life. Photo: Sussex Police
32. Locked up in Sussex 2024: These are some of the criminals jailed between May and August
A man who attempted to murder a child who had intervened to stop him raping and sexually assaulting another child has been sentenced after he was convicted of a number of offences including attempted murder and rape. Anthony Stocks, aged 54, formerly of Icieni Close, Goring-on-Thames, was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict of four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count each of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, rape and attempted murder in a trial at Oxford Crown Court, which concluded on June 6. Returning to the same court for sentencing, Stocks was sentenced to life in prison, serving a minimum of 19-and-a-half years. A joint investigation between Thames Valley Police and Sussex Police found that Stocks had calculated a plan to kill a young boy who had tried to stop him from his offending against a young girl. Stocks had previously taken the boy to a quarry in Oxfordshire with a plan to push him off the edge, but he changed his mind. However, on September 24, 2022, Stocks took the child to a set of cliffs at Ovingdean, near Brighton, where he carried out his plan, pushing the boy from the cliff edge. He sustained extensive serious injuries, but miraculously, survived. Initially, the boy’s fall was thought to be accidental, but following the launch of an investigation, a much darker reason for the fall became apparent. Stocks was arrested on November 23, 2023 on suspicion of attempted murder, rape, and other sexual offences and was charged on the same day. Over a period of three years between 2019 and 2022, Stocks was staying at an address in east Oxfordshire. During his time there, he subjected a girl to rape and multiple sexual assaults. The boy, who became aware of Stocks’ offending, attempted to intervene to stop Stocks continuing his abuse, and it was then that Stocks hatched his sordid plan to kill the boy. Photo: Thames Valley Police