CPS News Brief

Ray Teret found guilty of sexual offences

Today, Ray Teret was found guilty of sexual offences at Manchester Crown Court, Minshull Street. The offences occurred in the 1960s and 1970s and involved 11 victims.

Teret was found guilty of seven charges of rape and 11 of sexual assault and he will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court, Minshull Street on 11 December.

Nazir Afzal, CPS Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West said:

“During the sixties and seventies Ray Teret was a popular Manchester DJ. He used this status to target young and vulnerable girls who were impressionable and in some cases simply star struck.

“He singled his victims out for attention, using charm and flattery, before subjecting them to traumatic and callous assaults. Some he groomed over a period of time, whilst others he assaulted soon after he first approached them. Some of the victims were only 13 years of age. 

“The victims in this case have lived with the reality of what Ray Teret did for many years. It has had a significant impact upon all of their lives – personally, professionally and socially. In some cases it has had devastating consequences. Most of them felt they couldn’t tell anyone about it until recently. Many of them had thought it was their fault – it was never their fault. 

“They have all shown enormous bravery in coming forward to the police and in attending court to speak out about what happened. Their collective courage has ensured that Ray Teret has been brought to justice today. He must now face up to the reality and consequences of his offences.

“I hope today’s verdict will in some way help these victims to move on with their lives and I also hope it provides other victims of sexual abuse with the courage and confidence to come forward.”

Police officers to be charged following 2013 death of Bijan Ebrahimi

Three police constables and a police community support officer will be charged with misconduct in a public office following the death of Bijan Ebrahimi in Bristol in July 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced today [Friday, 5 December].

Mr Ebrahimi was murdered on 14 July 2013, because some of his neighbours wrongly believed he was a paedophile. Two men were later jailed in connection with his death; Lee James for life for murder and Stephen Norley for four years for assisting an offender.

A full file of evidence was submitted by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in October 2014 following their investigation into the way police officers are alleged to have responded to events and to contact from Mr Ebrahimi during the days leading to his death.

Malcolm McHaffie, CPS Deputy Head of Special Crime, said:

“PCs Kevin Duffy, Helen Harris and Leanne Winter, all of Avon & Somerset Constabulary, are to be charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly failing to respond to allegations and calls for help from Mr Ebrahimi.

“PCSO Andrew Passmore is to be charged with misconduct in public office for allegedly giving false information to the 999 operator that he was outside Mr Ebrahimi’s home at an important time. He will also be charged with perverting the course of justice for allegedly giving different accounts to the police murder investigation and the IPCC investigation.

“As part of our review of this case we have also decided that there is insufficient evidence to bring charges of misconduct in public office against two other members of Avon & Somerset Constabulary staff - a police emergency call taker and an emergency call supervisor.

“The decision to prosecute was reached after careful consideration of the evidence and was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. We have determined that there is sufficient evidence to give rise to a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest.

“All four individuals will appear at Bristol Magistrates’ Court for a preliminary hearing on 14 January 2015.

“Criminal proceedings have now commenced and the aforementioned individuals have the right to a fair trial. It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

The charges are as follows:

1. Kevin Duffy between 10 and 15 July 2013 at Bristol, while acting as a public officer, namely a police constable, wilfully misconducted himself in relation to his dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi, contrary to common law

2. Helen Harris between 10 and 15 July 2013 at Bristol, while acting as a public officer, namely a police constable, wilfully misconducted herself in relation to her dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi, contrary to common law

3. Leanne Winter between 10 and 15 July 2013 at Bristol, while acting as a public officer, namely a police constable, wilfully misconducted herself in relation to her dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi, contrary to common law

4. Andrew Passmore between 11 and 15 July 2013 at Bristol, while acting as a public officer, namely a police community support officer, wilfully misconducted himself in relation to his dealings with Bijan Ebrahimi, contrary to common law

5. Andrew Passmore between 11 July and 12 November 2013 at Bristol, with intent to pervert the course of justice, did a series of acts which had a tendency to pervert the course of justice in that he lied about an area being quiet and repeated that lie in two witness statements, contrary to common law.

Commercial director found guilty of manslaughter following the tragic death of a worker sentenced to three years

Anghel Milosavlevici was a worker employed by Siday Construction Ltd. which was contracted to provide building services to a residential property in October 2010. This work included the excavation of the basement and the underpinning of the supporting walls. During this work, Anghel Milosavlevici was working in an unsupported trench when the side wall collapsed and he was fatally crushed.

Deborah Jeffrey, specialist prosecutor at the CPS said,

“Anghel Milosavlevici’s tragic death was preventable and inexcusable. While working on the excavation of the house, his safety was the responsibility of Conrad Sidebottom, the commercial director of Siday, and Richard Golding, the independent health and safety consultant contracted to provide advice to Siday.

“These men did not fulfil their duties, with a haphazard attitude to the safety of the employees working in the house. Their failures led to these tragic consequences which should never have occurred.”

The jury found Conrad Sidebottom guilty of manslaughter and Richard Golding guilty of exposing another to a risk of health and safety. Conrad Sidebottom was today handed down a sentence of three years, three months and Richard Golding was handed down a sentence of nine months.

HSE Inspector Dominic Long, who supported the joint police and HSE investigation, added:

“Mr Milosavlevici’s tragic death could easily have been avoided had the basement work been better planned and managed by company owner and site manager Conrad Sidebottom. Had all the excavations on site been properly shored and propped the fatal collapse simply would not have happened.

“In addition, had Richard Golding inspected the site properly during his earlier visits he would have identified both that work wasn’t being carried out in accordance with a written safe system of work, and that the excavations posed a clear risk. By failing in his duty he allowed unsafe work practices to continue with devastating consequences.

“Both parties are culpable and their failings are shocking. Anyone involved in basement excavation must recognise the significant dangers that this type of work poses and ensure that safe systems of work are in place at all times. This involves the appointment of a competent temporary works engineer, clear and competent site management, and adequate shoring and propping of excavations."

Action on cases involving Mazher Mahmood

CPS Spokesperson said:

"Following the halting of the trial of Ms Contostavlos and Mr Coombs we took steps to identify current and past cases involving Mr Mahmood as a prosecution witness.  We made it our immediate priority to carefully look into live prosecutions in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and any past cases which involved a defendant still in custody.  There were no concluded cases where a defendant was still in custody, but we identified three live cases; each case was looked at individually and no evidence was offered as we concluded that there was no longer a realistic prospect of a conviction.

"We are now considering past cases which resulted in a conviction in criminal courts in England and Wales based on evidence provided by Mr Mahmood, and have identified 25 cases. As part of this process, over the coming weeks, CPS Areas will be contacting representatives of the defendants – or defendants themselves as necessary - convicted in these cases in order to provide them with a disclosure pack – details of material which they may consider undermines the conviction in a specific case.

"When making a charging decision, each case and the evidence provided to us is assessed on its own merit and a decision is made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.  If, after the conclusion of proceedings new material comes to light that may cast doubt upon the safety of a conviction we have a duty to consider disclosure. By providing disclosure packs to the defence, consideration can be given as to whether or not this material might cast doubt upon the safety of any convictions.    

"We are providing this information to defence representatives to allow them to consider whether there is any basis for their client’s case to be referred to the Court of Appeal or to the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC). We have also provided the disclosure packs to the Law Society, CCRC and relevant regulatory bodies that we are aware of and who have had cases involving Mr Mahmood.

"The safety of convictions is of paramount importance to the CPS. Therefore if defence representatives have not been contacted by the end of December and provided with a disclosure pack then we would invite them to contact their local CPS office in order to provide their details and to request a pack.  

"Care should be taken when reporting matters relating to Mr Mahmood to ensure it does not affect the fairness of future proceedings as a police investigation in remains ongoing."

CANCER DOCTOR WHO SEXUALLY ASSAULTED YOUNG PATIENTS JAILED FOR 22 YEARS

The sexual abuse of young patients carried out by Cambridgeshire cancer treatment doctor Myles Bradbury was one of the worst cases of a breach of trust prosecuted by CPS East of England.

Michelle Brown, head of the CPS East of England’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit (RASSO), said: “This paedophile doctor took advantage of his young patients battling serious illness by systematically sexually abusing them. Such cruelty is unimaginable to most of us.

“The extent of that abuse and the number of victims – 18 – was a gross breach of the trust placed in Myles Bradbury and one of the worst cases of this kind that we have prosecuted.”

Myles Bradbury, who was a blood cancer specialist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, admitted 25 charges, including sexual assault of a child under 13 years, sexual activity with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent photographs. He was sentenced to a total of 22 years at Cambridge Crown Court.

Ms Brown added: “The sentence given to Myles Bradbury reflects the seriousness of what he did and the breach of trust involved. We hope that it gives some comfort to those affected to know that he has been held to account for his crimes.”