CPS News Brief

Michael D’Costa sentenced to a total of 16 years imprisonment for the sexual abuse of three young girls

Michael D’Costa was sentenced today at Isleworth Crown Court to a total of 16 years imprisonment for a number of sexual offences against three young victims who were aged 10 to 14 years old at the time of the attacks. The offences, including five counts of raping a child under 13 years old, were committed between 2011 and 2014 . D’Costa pleaded guilty to 25 sexual offences on 17^th April 2015.

 

Chief Crown prosecutor for CPS London, Baljit Ubhey OBE, said:

“Michael D’Costa is a dangerous sexual predator who groomed his victims with gifts and affection before subjecting them to repeated sexual abuse.

“He used intimidation and threats to control his victims and recorded the abuse in his diary and on a video camera.

“His documentation of these abhorrent crimes ultimately provided the prosecution team with overwhelming evidence against him, leaving him no choice but to plead guilty.

“I would like to thank the victims in this case for the strength they have showed through the prosecution process and I hope that the sentence passed today will provide them with some small comfort.”

 

Convictions:

 

Victim A

Two counts of Sexual Activity with a Child

One count of rape

Victim B

Two counts of Causing or Inciting a Child under 13 to Engage in Sexual Activity

Three counts of Assault of a Child under 13 by Penetration

Two counts of Attempted Rape of a Child under 13

Five counts of Rape of a Child under 13

Two counts of Rape

Two counts of Sexual Activity with a Child

Victim C

Four counts of Sexual Activity with a Child.

Two counts of Rape

 

Daniel Elliot sentenced to life imprisonment for series of sexual attacks in south London

Daniel Elliott, 24, was sentenced today for a string of rape and sexual assaults in the Carshalton and Wallington area between August and November last year. He received life imprisonment, with a minimum of eight years, at Croydon Crown Court.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, Baljit Ubhey OBE, said: 

“Daniel Elliott committed a series of terrifying sexual attacks on young women in the south London area between August and November 2014.  

“Elliott preyed on the three women at night, attacking them in parks across the area. He used a combination of fear and intimidation, threatening his victims with either a knife or pepper spray before subjecting them to terrifying attacks.

“I would like to thank the victims for their strength and bravery in supporting this prosecution. Their evidence has helped bring Elliott to justice.

“Tackling rape and serious sexual assaults is a key priority for CPS London and we will continue to work closely with our police partners to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”

 

Background

Daniel Elliott was sentenced for the following charges-

 

Two counts of Rape – life imprisonment, with a minimum of 8 years

Assault by penetration – 8 years imprisonment, concurrent

Attempted rape – 8 years imprisonment, concurrent

Sexual Assault – 3 years imprisonment, concurrent

Daniel Elliot sentenced to life imprisonment for series of sexual attacks in south London

Daniel Elliott, 24, was sentenced today for a string of rape and sexual assaults in the Carshalton and Wallington area between August and November last year. He received life imprisonment, with a minimum of eight years, at Croydon Crown Court.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, Baljit Ubhey OBE, said: 

“Daniel Elliott committed a series of terrifying sexual attacks on young women in the south London area between August and November 2014.  

“Elliott preyed on the three women at night, attacking them in parks across the area. He used a combination of fear and intimidation, threatening his victims with either a knife or pepper spray before subjecting them to terrifying attacks.

“I would like to thank the victims for their strength and bravery in supporting this prosecution. Their evidence has helped bring Elliott to justice.

“Tackling rape and serious sexual assaults is a key priority for CPS London and we will continue to work closely with our police partners to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”

 

Background

Daniel Elliott was sentenced for the following charges-

 

Two counts of Rape – life imprisonment, with a minimum of 8 years

Assault by penetration – 8 years imprisonment, concurrent

Attempted rape – 8 years imprisonment, concurrent

Sexual Assault – 3 years imprisonment, concurrent

Andrew Stocker found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter following death of employees in apple farm

Andrew Stocker has been found guilty by a jury of gross negligence manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court.

Piers Arnold, specialist prosecutor at the CPS said:

“This is a tragic case involving two young men, workers on an apple farm in Hampshire, who died of asphyxiation after being sent into an apple storage tank with very low levels of oxygen in order to gather apples for a fruit competition.

“No breathing apparatus was provided to the men, who were expected to hold their breath in the hope that they would not succumb to oxygen deprivation. Mr Stocker was in charge of the pack house where the two men worked and was responsible for encouraging this method of collecting apples. He has today been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter for the part he played in their deaths.”

 

Extracts from the prosecution opening:

“The Defendant undoubtedly was well aware of the dangers presented by these units when used with a controlled atmosphere. However, perhaps through over confidence or a blasé approach to risk for himself, he had allowed and, by his own conduct, encouraged a bad practice to develop and/or continue over the years by which on occasions workers would enter these units without breathing equipment and in breach of his employer’s safety policy. The practice had even acquired a somewhat boastful tag amongst one or two workers: “scuba diving”;”

…

 “One such occasion when “scuba diving” would be used was in respect of the gathering of samples for an annual national fruit show held down in Kent every February/March.”

 …

 “The Defendant knew full well that the prohibited form of entry would have to be employed in order to gather the appropriate samples yet, notwithstanding his knowledge of the high risk of serious harm/death and notwithstanding the duty of care owed by him to those who worked under his supervision and control, he allowed the risk to be taken.”

…

 “On Monday 18th February 2013 Scott Cain set about his task during the morning. It would appear that he was intending to make his selection from three separate units and to do so over two sessions… He did so by holding his breath and entering the unit itself. He would take a deep breath then duck down into the unit taking with him an empty net into which he would place about 10 apples selected from various stored boxes. He would then re-appear at the hatch, pass the net out to his assistant for him to empty the fruit into a cardboard box before repeating the same process.

“Ashley Clarke duly agreed to help out and he was last seen heading off to what turned out to be unit 3 at around 1pm. As Ashley had never been involved with the storage units, it is perhaps safe to assume that Scott employed the same process as before, namely he entered the unit itself leaving Ashley to stand on the roof of the unit ready to receive the gathered apples;

“It would appear that no-one noticed the prolonged absence of Scott and Ashley until shortly before 3pm. A search of the unit area resulted in the grim discovery of both men lying motionless across the top layer of apple boxes inside unit 3. Despite the efforts of members of staff and the emergency services neither young man could be revived and both men were finally pronounced dead at the scene.”

Woman sentenced for pretending to be a barrister

A former Guildford Borough Councillor has been sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to forging her qualifications and claiming to be a qualified barrister.

Monika Juneja, who was a councillor until the elections in May 2015, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing at the Old Bailey to three counts of forgery, one charge of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and one charge of wilfully pretending to be a barrister. Today she was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service in addition to the suspended sentence.

Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS South East, Jaswant Narwal, said:

“This deception is one that dates back over 14 years and during that time, Monika Juneja never let her academic failings get in the way of what she wanted to achieve. She claimed to be a barrister over many years, despite never having actually qualified or being entitled to call herself a barrister in any context.

“After she first failed to achieve the qualifications she needed to attend law school in London, she forged a letter claiming to be from the University of Greenwich, saying she had achieved the required results. Monika Juneja then failed to pass her Bar exams, but continued her deception by forging another letter from the law school she had attended, stating she had passed.

“These falsified qualifications were used repeatedly on CVs and applications, meaning Monika Juneja was able to gain a variety of jobs, all of which were more highly paid than they otherwise would have been, because of the inaccurate information she gave her potential employers.

“She continued the deception when she stood as a councillor in the May 2011 local elections, referring to herself as a barrister. Constituents complained that she had misrepresented herself, which led to the official investigation and, in the face of overwhelming evidence from the prosecution, she finally admitted her deception.”