CPS News Brief

Man convicted for ''vicious'' burglary in Essex

A man was today (8 December) convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court of an “unspeakably vicious” break-in at a house in Sible Hedingham, Essex.

Charlie Simms was convicted of attempted murder, aggravated burglary and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. 

Senior District Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England, Punam Malhan said: 

“The victim was left for dead, with life-changing injuries, in an unspeakably vicious assault and I would like to praise him for his bravery in giving evidence against those responsible for the attack on him in his own home - the very place where he expected to be able to feel safe.

“The prosecution case was the defendants held the mistaken belief that they would find a significant amount of money in the house.  

“The events of that night and its aftermath will stay with the victim and his family for the rest of their lives. I hope the convictions today can go some way to reassuring them that justice has been done.”

The court heard a desperate 999 call from the homeowner who had locked himself in his bedroom having heard men breaking into his house at 4:30am on 6 February this year.

While the victim was on the phone to the police, the sound of a shotgun being fired through the bedroom door was heard followed by Simms screaming demands for money and threats to kill. The victim was shot at point-blank range causing a severe injury to his leg.

Simms, 23 and from Great Yeldham, Essex was described in court as “the main mover and most brutal" of the raiders and denied the charges against him. 

Christopher Bergin, 28, of Sible Hedingham, denied aggravated burglary, wounding with intent, possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Bergin admitted entering the house and committing the aggravated burglary with Simms, but he claimed to have been acting under duress from his co-defendant. The jury rejected his story and found him guilty of aggravated burglary, wounding with intent and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Sentencing has been adjourned until January 2017.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Kalebh Shreeve, 24, denied aggravated burglary, wounding with intent, possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life. He was acquitted on all charges.

Man who posted articles to MP ‘littered with hate’ convicted

 A man who posted highly offensive and anti-Semitic articles relating to Luciana Berger MP in an online hate campaign has been convicted today (07 December). 

The jury at the Old Bailey found Joshua Bonehill-Paine, 24, guilty of one count of racially aggravated harassment.

Bonehill-Paine, from Yeovil, Somerset, began posting the articles on two websites in 2014 following the conviction of another man who had posted similarly hateful content about Ms Berger. The new articles were described in court as ‘littered with hate’. He will be sentenced at a later date and the CPS will, in addition, apply for a Criminal Behaviour Order to restrict his access to devices with internet access. 

Sarah Jennings, Special Casework lawyer from CPS London, said: 

“The highly offensive, hateful and racist articles written by Bonehill-Paine in his online campaign against Ms Berger are indefensible. 

“He claimed that the posts were appropriate within the bounds of free speech and freedom of political expression. However, the whole point of his posts was to aim anti-Semitic hostility towards Luciana Berger.

“Everyone has the right not to be harassed or subjected to racist abuse, no matter what position they hold in public life.”

Notes

1. Joshua Bonehill-Paine was charged with one count of Racially Aggravated Harassment, contrary to section 32(1)(a) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The indictment in full:

Between the 26th day of October 2014 and the 25th day of January 2015 pursued a course of conduct, namely the posting of 5 defamatory and insulting articles on websites controlled by him, specifically:
(1) On 27/10/14 he posted an article entitled “Racist Anti-White Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger exposed” to the Daily Bale website;
(2) On 4/11/14 he posted an article entitled “Is the Labour part a Jewish party” to the Daily Bale website;
(3) On 18/11/14 he posted an article entitled “ZOG attacks Daily Stormer in retaliation to successful Berger campaign” to the Daily Bale website;
(4) On 20/11/14 he posted an article entitled “Joshua Bonehill: On the eve of the battle” to the Daily Bale website;
(5) On 24/1/15 he posted an article entitled “The Legacy of Operation Filthy Jew Bitch” on joshuabonehill.net,
which amounted to the harassment of Luciana Berger, and which he knew or ought to have known amounted to the harassment of her in that and at the time of pursuing the course of conduct, or immediately before doing so, or after doing so, demonstrated towards Luciana Berger hostility based on her membership or presumed membership of a particular racial group, namely Jews.

2.    Four of the articles were published in an online newspaper founded by Joshua Bonehill-Paine called The Daily BALE, standing for ‘Britain Against Left-wing Extremism’. It describes itself as ‘Britain’s No.1 Nationalist Newspaper’. The fifth article was published to a personal website operated by Bonehill-Paine, joshuabonehill.net.

Fraudster who duped property investors out of £5million convicted

A fraudster who duped property investors out of more than £5million by promising them impossible returns has been convicted following a prosecution by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division.

Sascha Morris, 46, was convicted of two counts of fraud and another of fraudulent trading following a trial at Leeds Crown Court. She will be sentenced on 9 January 2017.

The court heard how Morris persuaded UK investors to part with cash for off-plan properties in Cyprus by promising false returns on quick sales. She also promoted non-existent relationships with holiday lettings firms said to be available to lease properties that were not sold. Investors were encouraged to put money in at the start of projects on the basis that they could sell before they were completed. When buyers were not found and the projects neared completion, the investors were pursued for further payments that they had never expected to make.

In another part of the fraud, Morris sourced more than £2.6million from two groups of investors to a company she claimed would finance property developments. Each group thought their investment was underpinned by the value of the company but was unaware that the other group was involved and would be entitled to half of that value. When the schemes failed, the vast majority of the money was lost.

Simon Higginbotham, Specialist Prosecutor from the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, said:

“Some of the investors targeted by Sascha Morris had to remortgage their homes or borrow large sums in order to raise money they had never expected to pay.

“Through careful analysis of the financial transactions the prosecution was able to demonstrate to the jury how Morris deliberately misled investors in order to achieve financial gain for herself.”

The conviction follows an investigation carried out by North Yorkshire Police’s Major Fraud Investigation Team.