Lots of people committed crimes and were jailed earlier this month and are now spending time behind bars.

Here are just some of the criminals, burglars, drug dealers, child killers, paedophiles, thieves, murderers and thugs who committed crimes in January.

Graham Kemp

A "predatory" former school bus driver who sexually abused children over four decades was told by a judge he is likely to die in prison.

Paedophile Graham Kemp was first brought to justice in June 2018 for molesting two young girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.

But an article on KentOnline about that conviction at Canterbury Crown Court led to two other victims of his deviant behaviour in the 1960s and 1980s coming forward - earlier this month, the pensioner started a 21-year jail term.

The 76-year-old, who has a number of health issues, sat stoney-faced and with his arms folded across his chest as he was told at the same court by Recorder Michael Turner that he faced spending the rest of his days behind bars.

Passing sentence, he told Kemp his latest conviction following a trial in October last year "served to complete the picture painted by the prosecution of a predatory, paedophile sex offender.”

He added: "They established, taking into account your other convictions, that you have indeed committed sex offences throughout much of your adult life.

"Throughout those decades of offending, it is abundantly clear that you have preyed upon vulnerable young girls.”

Kemp was told he will have to serve 14 years of his jail term - and will therefore be 90 years old - before becoming eligible for parole and he will then be subject to an extended licence period of two years.

Jurors had found him unanimously guilty of six offences of indecent assault, one of sexual intercourse with a girl under 13 and one of rape, all committed between the 1960s and 1980s, following a two-week trial.

Harvey Smalling

A teenager who stabbed an off-duty police officer after a row broke out at a McDonald’s branch was locked up.

Harvey Smalling, who was 19 at the time, had been drinking when he visited the fast-food chain and threatened to “knife” his victim.

The officer had been drinking at the Wetherspoon pub The Golden Lion, in Rochester in July 2022 with a fellow policeman before the pair headed to McDonald’s in Commercial Road, Strood.

It was there they saw Smalling, who is now 20, ordering his food on a nearby screen and prosecutor Ryan Evans told Maidstone Crown Court: “They used self-service tills to make their order and the first officer was given order six and the second one number seven and when staff called out order number five and no one came to collect their order and Smalling is described as looking strangely at the first officer and looking through him.

“The victim said to his fellow officer ‘maybe he doesn’t understand English’, but Smalling, of Eldred Drive, Orpington, became aggressive and said ‘come outside, what’s your problem’, before going close to officer one who said: “What the f*** are you on about, get your food,” before telling him to go away.

Smalling was then heard repeatedly saying “come outside” and the he two men then left the restaurant and walked toward the gym in the same road, and wearing a balaclava at the time, Smalling then said: “Number Five...I’ll knife you, yeah.”

The officer produced his phone telling Smalling the police were on their way, but Smalling knocked the phone out of his hand, repeating “I’ll knife you, yeah” and he the officer lifted his arms to push him away and felt a punch to his left-hand side, which turned out to be a stab wound.

An ambulance arrived and the victim was airlifted to King’s College Hospital due to the location of the stabbing and risk of severe internal bleeding and Smalling was given a 32-month sentence after admitting affray and four months for wounding which will run concurrently.

Sian Hedges and Jack Benham

A mother and her former partner who murdered her 18-month-old son in a “wicked and torturous attack” were jailed for life.

Sian Hedges and Jack Benham learned their fate this month after brutally killing Alfie Phillips in a night of “violent discipline” inside a caravan home in Hernhill, near Faversham.

The cruel pair were sentenced in front of TV crews at Maidstone Crown Court, in a first for any Kent court.

Hedges, 27, must serve at least 19 years while her ex-lover Jack Benham, 35, will not be considered for release until serving 23 years after taking a leading role in the attack.

The judge, Justice Cavanagh, said Alfie suffered "unimaginable pain" in the "frenzied attack".

Jennifer Knight KC, prosecuting, stressed there was no sadistic element but a violent forceful discipline over a protracted time and the court heard Alfie had 70 visible injuries and multiple broken bones at the time of his death.

A skeletal survey and post-mortem examinations revealed the toddler had multiple fractures to both of his arms, his ribs and one leg, as well as widespread bruising, marks and scrapes across his body.

Tests indicated many of the breaks to his bones would have occurred in the hours before his death.

Matthew Lockwood

A serial paedophile who sexually abused and exploited young boys he met online was locked up.

Matthew Lockwood, from Chatham, instigated contact via the Kik and Grindr apps before offering cash and gifts as incentives for meeting up to indulge his deviant desires.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 47-year-old also shared explicit images of his victims, asked one for a picture in his school uniform, and offered the boys for sex to others he communicated with over the internet.

Aware of his wrongdoing, he told one boy he "needed to be careful" when taking him to his flat so as to not alert neighbours, and even went on to boast in online chats about the perverted sexual acts he performed, claiming to have had sex with a child as young as 12.

One boy, aged 14 when he first met Lockwood, later told police how he felt his abuser had "a hold" over him and in his victim impact statement read at Lockwood's sentencing hearing earlier this month, he wrote: "I felt trapped and I couldn't find any way out, I felt I couldn't tell anyone what was happening, he had control over me.”

A second victim told police that at times he blamed himself for downloading the Kik app, and that having to detail what he had suffered at Lockwood's hands for court proceedings meant he’d had to "relive what I thought was forgotten".

Lockwood, of Edgewater, St Mary's Island, pleaded guilty to six offences of distributing indecent images of a child, five of possessing indecent images, three of sexual activity with a child, three of causing sexual exploitation of a child, two of sexual communication with a child, two of paying for sexual services of a child, and causing a child to watch a sexual act and also admitted possessing a class B drug, namely ketamine.

Lockwood was jailed for 13 years, and on his release he will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years, as well as indefinite sex offender notification requirements.

Ashley Singh

A man who stole bank cards from gym-goers’ lockers to fund a lavish lifestyle was jailed and his partner was handed a suspended sentence.

Ashley Singh and Sophie Bruyea, from Bromley, would target gyms and while victims were exercising, Singh would rifle through their lockers.

The pair would then max out their victims’ credit cards on expensive tech and designer gear, before selling them on and using the cash to buy bags, shoes, holidays, and a pedigree puppy.

The couple’s spending spree was noticed by a local officer who realised there was a pattern and flagged it to detectives and officers began tracing the pair’s phones, cars, and faces on CCTV and linked them all together.

Met officers arrested them at Gatwick Airport on January 27, 2023, as they returned from Paris with 2,000 Euros worth of designer goods and at Croydon Crown Court earlier this month the pair were sentenced for conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between January 2022 and January 2023 with a total value of £250k.

All in all 18 people were targeted in what the sentencing judge branded a “wicked conspiracy”.

The judge described the impact the pair’s “wide-ranging spree” had had on people, including instances where people no longer felt safe around strangers, or had suffered professionally due to the stress.

Singh, 39, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment while Bruyea, was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders’ institute, suspended for two years, a rehabilitation programme and 120 hours unpaid work.

Richard Holdsworth

A former church youth worker was snapped on camera snatching precious jewellery during a break-in at a neighbour's home.

Heartless Richard Holdsworth, who also previously ran a Narcotics Anonymous group, targeted the property in Sandwich knowing it was unoccupied.

Canterbury Crown Court heard one of the residents had died and the other was living in a care home, but dad of six Holdsworth, who has 34 previous convictions for 85 offences, including 52 for dishonesty and theft, had been using the house in Fordwich Place - just a three-minute walk from his own - to hide from bailiffs.

But when he "succumbed to temptation" on October 3 last year, the 56-year-old crook was confronted and photographed by another neighbour as he fled with a bin bag, holdall and Dyson vacuum cleaner and also among his loot were treasured wedding and engagement rings as well as personal documents including passports, post and bank details.

Holdsworth, of Honfleur Road, later pleaded guilty to burglary, as well as possessing cocaine found in his custody cell following his arrest and breaching an 18-month suspended sentence order imposed in August 2022 for two commercial break-ins.

But during a 20-year period where he managed to kick his habit, Holdsworth had not only worked for a church youth group but also founded and ran NA sessions in Deal for several years, which included visiting prisons to give talks to inmates.

However, he was said to have succumbed to cocaine again following a car crash in 2014 in which he suffered a serious head injury and had to learn to walk again.

Jailing Holdsworth for two-and-a-half years this month, Recorder Duncan Atkinson KC told him it was "to his very great credit" that in the time he had weaned himself off cocaine he became "a positive advocate" for others to do the same, but added any domestic burglary, even when a property was unoccupied, was "a violation" for the homeowners.

To read more of our in-depth coverage of all of the major trials coming out of crown and magistrates’ courts across the county, click here.

To see the criminals locked up in December click here.

Tyler Lucock and Luke Samuel

A 19-year-old was locked up for more than 18 years after a homeless man was stabbed in a premeditated attack.

Tyler Lucock and a 16-year-old boy pounced on the victim in an alleyway near Grange Road in Gravesend in the early hours of January 27, last year.

They stabbed him twice with a knife and a metal weapon was also used and the victim, a man in his 40s, had been lured there by Luke Samuel, a man he knew and who was aware Lucock and the teenager were waiting to assault him.

After the incident they both fled the scene and left the victim to stagger out of the alleyway and onto Pelham Road where he called for help, while Samuel had walked away from the scene while the incident was unfolding.

All three suspects were later arrested on February 1, 2023, and charged with attempted murder, which they all denied, but following a trial Lucock, of Taunton Vale, Gravesend, was found guilty by a jury.

He was locked up for 18 years and three months at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this month and will serve his sentence in a Young Offenders’ Institute.

Luke Samuel, 40, of Medhurst Crescent, Gravesend, later pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm without intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place – which related to a separate incident – and was jailed for two years and three months.

The 16-year-old boy admitted grievous bodily harm with intent and was handed a three-year youth referral order and he will also have to wear an electronic tag for six months and is excluded from the town for a year.

Jozef Balog

A people smuggler who hid a Vietnamese woman behind his car’s passenger glove compartment was jailed.

Shocking photos of the migrant crammed inside what a judge described as an "expertly fitted", custom-built hideaway in Jozef Balog's Vauxhall Vectra were taken by Border Force officers and shown in court.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the woman was within inches of serious injury or even death if the vehicle had been involved in an accident or her hair had become trapped around the steering wheel shaft and to fit her into the cramped space, the passenger airbag had been removed, along with the car's air-conditioning and heating system.

The fuse and relay boards had also been moved and tied into an upper area behind the passenger-side dashboard, while water pipes from the engine had been re-routed and a makeshift metal support had also been installed behind the driver's side of the dashboard.

It is not known how long the woman had been in the hide before she was discovered at the UK control zone of the Eurotunnel in Coquelles, France, in the early hours of June 5, 2022, but when stopped, dad-of-four Balog had claimed to be returning to his home in Manchester after visiting relatives in his native country.

But officers became suspicious when they noticed the carpet in the passenger footwell was further forward than expected, and also in the vehicle sitting in the front passenger seat was a female relative said in court to have been acting as "window dressing" so as to avoid a lone driver raising suspicion.

Balog, 33, of Constable Street, Manchester, later admitted assisting unlawful immigration and appeared for sentencing earlier this month and his relative, believed to be an aunt, was also charged with the same offence but was cleared by a jury following a trial.

Jailing Balog for two-and-a-half years, Judge Simon Taylor KC said he had acted "selfishly to meet his family's needs rather than out of pure greed", and that his role was "subordinate" to others higher up the chain, but he was immediately freed having already served 19 months on remand and the Vietnamese woman was deemed to be an illegal entrant and served with the requisite paperwork.

Kevin Laby

A drug dealer who hid down an alleyway with cocaine and heroin in his underwear was locked up for 16 months.

Kevin Laby pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply and possessing heroin with intent to supply.

He was originally arrested on August 2 last year, after a police officer spotted a group of drug users loitering in an alleyway by Bryant Street, Chatham.

The PC parked up and returned only to find the group had moved on but as he entered the alleyway he met Laby exiting into Chalk Pitt Hill.

The county lines dealer, from Harlescott Road in Peckham, was then detained for a drug search where he was found to have £220 and three mobile phones.

He was then taken to the police station where a further search located five deals of heroin and 16 wraps of crack cocaine hidden in his underwear.

The seized phones were examined and found to have text messages concerning the supply of drugs and Laby was identified as working for the “Alex” cocaine supply line and charged with drug dealing offences.

Earlier this month, he was sentenced to one year and four months’ imprisonment.

Sobantu Sibanda

A man was jailed for life for the "barbaric" murder of a disabled barrister living rough in Canterbury in what a judge described as a "gratuitous and humiliating punishment beating".

Sobantu Sibanda, the son of a university lecturer and a social worker, was told earlier this month, he will have to serve at least 19 years for the "callous and extremely violent" killing of "highly intelligent, well-travelled and proud" 51-year-old Guy Malbec before he can be considered for parole.

Mr Malbec, who had qualified in law but never practised, was beaten to death in the early hours of Easter Sunday last year with implements including his own wooden gavel - bought for him by his father to celebrate his call to the Bar - as well as his laptop.

His ordeal on the lower ground floor of Castle Street car park lasted almost two hours and led to Sibanda becoming so enraged that he cruelly destroyed some of Mr Malbec's cherished belongings and in a particularly callous act, the 28-year-old even swallowed a wooden chess piece from a hand-carved set made by the victim's grandfather, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Sibanda, a former financial advisor, had denied murder, maintaining during days of giving evidence that he had only intended "some harm" to his victim, but a jury saw through his lies and unanimously convicted him following a six-week trial.

Sibanda, who was also homeless but had previously lived with his family in Albert Street, Whitstable, had however pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of justice in respect of his "clean-up" of the killing scene and he was joined in the dock by fellow rough sleepers Gavin Houghton, 50, Keith Hall, 51, and 22-year-old Lithuanian Airidas Sakalauskas.

Described as Sibanda's "henchmen" and present when the horrific violence was meted out, they had admitted perverting justice in relation to disposing of evidence or deleting incriminating phone messages, call logs and contacts list and Houghton, said to have previously worked for 25 years as a chef "at a top level" and of Old Dover Road, Canterbury, was jailed for three years and four months.

Sakalauskas, also of Old Dover Road, was jailed for the same period and fellow chef Hall, of Athelstan Road, Thanington, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

Kevin Ratcliffe, Patrick Hallahan, James Savva, Carl Crabtree, David Squires, Michael Blewett, Damion Freeman, Jessie Cockle, Richard Shelton and Lewis Cosgrove

Ten men involved in what is thought to be one of the biggest drug operations in the south east of England received jail sentences totaling more than 100 years.

The defendants admitted being part of the movement of 250 kilos of cocaine worth more than £15 million between 2019 and 2022, operating in Kent, Suffolk and Sussex.

Earlier this month, Maidstone Crown Court heard that a police operation discovered the men used an encrypted mobile phone chat system, where they discussed delivery and payments and their offences included conspiracy to supply and transferring illegal funds, and some were involved in the supply and others were couriers or provided safe houses to store the drugs or the money.

Patrick Hallahan, 36, of The Drive, Hove, Brighton, pleaded gulity to four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and one count of encouraging/assisting in commission of indictable offences, he was jailed for 14 years, while Richard Shelton, 41, of Hillcrest Close, London admitted three counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for 15 years and six months.

Kevin Ratcliffe, 42, of Longhill Road, Brighton, admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was locked up for 14 years, while David Squires, 46, of Chorister Crescent, Hoo, Rochester, admitted three counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for seven years.

Jessie Cockle, 29, of Hulver Road, Beccles, Suffolk, admitted two counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was locked up for 14 years and six months and Lewis Cosgrove, 39, of Butlers Park Way, Rochester, admitted four counts of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and transferring criminal property and was jailed for 12 years and nine months.

Michael Blewett, 43, of Mulberry Close, Brighton, admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was locked up for 10 years and six months and Damion Freeman, 45, of Lenham Avenue, Saltdean, Brighton, admitted one count of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and was jailed for eight years and six months.

Carl Crabtree, 41, of Colsterdale, Carlton Colville, Lowestoft, Suffolk, admitted one count of possession of criminal property and was locked up for three years while James Savva, 51, of Reservoir Road, London, admitted one count of conspiracy to supply class A drugs and was jailed for five years and eight months.

Luke Tudor and Kieran Martin

Two yobs who went on a violent crime spree in which a taxi driver was robbed and a student threatened with a knife were jailed.

One of the men - Margate resident Luke Tudor - even had his children with him when he and his accomplice Kieran Martin forcefully stole alcohol from a shopper's trolley as it was pushed along the street.

Canterbury Crown Court heard one of the youngsters urged the 36-year-old dad to leave the victims alone, but within hours Tudor and Martin, 30, were targeting cabbie Burham Sinani, who was headbutted, chased and robbed of his takings, and his vehicle damaged and ransacked.

Mr Sinani was so scared that he sought refuge in a nearby pharmacy, only for the threats to continue and staff later told police they feared the driver "would be murdered".

At the time, Martin was on court bail for robbing a schoolboy at knifepoint of his Nike jacket, trainers and iPhone, as the court heard he had accosted the student in a Broadstairs park at night, held a blade to his neck and, once his demands had been met, sinisterly ordered the terrified victim to "run for his life".

Earlier this month the thugs were handed prison sentences totalling more than 10 years, despite Judge Simon James acknowledging the adverse impact custody would have on Tudor's children.

Martin, of Millmead Road, Margate, admitted two offences of robbery, possessing a bladed article, theft, affray and criminal damage and was and was jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years.

Tudor, of Thanet Road in the town, pleaded guilty to robbery, assault causing actual bodily harm, theft and criminal damage was locked up for two years and nine months.

Clifford Vincent

A thug who stole money from a 91-year-old after breaking into his home was jailed.

Clifford Vincent targeted the pensioner at his home in Hartley, Cranbrook, on June 7, 2022.

After breaking into his house and forcing his way inside, Vincent told the victim, who had mobility issues and required daily help from carers, that he knew him and asked how he was.

Following a search of the property, including places such as the man's bedroom, he then left having stolen around £15 which had been sitting on a living room mantelpiece.

Officers arrested Vincent around a month later while he was driving in Sevenoaks following an investigation and during police interview, he accepted he had entered the victim’s address but claimed he had been knocking on the doors of several homes to inquire about a van parked nearby for sale.

When quizzed about entering the victim's bedroom, Vincent claimed he was asking whether the man needed help with anything.

However, the 48-year-old, of Glebe Close, Smarden, was charged with burglary and later pleaded not guilty at Maidstone Crown Court, but was convicted convicted unanimously by a jury following his trial.

He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment earlier this month.

Anthony Burns

A prolific online sex blackmailer has been jailed for 24 years for a sickening string of offences against a seven-year-old girl and dozens of women using dating and sugar daddy websites.

Anthony Burns, 39, worked with notorious online child sex offender Abdul Elahi, who was jailed for 32 years in December 2021 after targeting 2,000 people globally to commit sadistic online abuse.

Between May 2018 and March 2021, Burns used sugar daddy websites to trap dozens of unsuspecting females – some from Dartford and Canterbury - into performing sexual and degrading acts under the threat of blackmail and one of his 35 victims was a seven-year-old girl in the US, who was abused by her mother following sustained coercion by Burns, the child has since been safeguarded and the mother was jailed for 21 years.

Elahi tutored Burns, originally from Lowestoft, on the psychology of blackmail, including techniques such as scripted wording to help gain the trust of victims, and provided instruction on how they would respond to threats and what to say to them and used multiple online personas to ensnare his victims, including posing as the head of a model agency searching for clients and also pretended to be an National Crime Agency officer on one occasion.

All the victims were ordered to film themselves carrying out sexual acts in the belief they would be paid £600, but the money was never transferred to them and when he had received enough explicit material, Burns threatened to expose the pictures to the victims’ families and friends unless they sent more increasingly depraved photographs and videos.

NCA officers arrested Burns in February 2019 and his mobile phone and computers were seized and forensically examined and incriminating evidence uncovered highlighted the scale and propensity of his offending, and that he was blackmailing several victims simultaneously.

Burns was charged with 46 counts including blackmail, attempted blackmail, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, arranging the commission of a child sex offence; making and distributing indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography, malicious communications offences and failure to comply with notification requirements and admitted 41 offences and was found guilty of a further two in August last year, following a two-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court, the remaining charges were ordered to remain on file.

He was sentenced to 24 years in prison with a further five on licence at the same court earlier this month and he will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Vlad Shtefuriak

A van driver was jailed after he smuggled more than £8m of cocaine and heroin in packages labelled 'BBC' and 'Rolls-Royce' into the UK.

The 95kg haul of class A drugs was discovered stuffed inside a mattress by Border Force officers at Dover in the Polish-registered LGV driven by Vlad Shtefuriak.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the mattress was so inflated that the authorities initially feared it was filled with people.

However, once cut open, they discovered it was stuffed with brown-taped packages, each 1inch deep and stacked four high, containing 75kg of 80% purity cocaine with a street value of £6m, and 20kg of heroin, with a purity of 56% and worth £2million.

Shtefuriak denied any knowledge of his illicit cargo but was unanimously convicted by a jury earlier this month of two charges of drug smuggling, they heard the large van arrived at the docks shortly before 6am on June 16 last year and raised suspicions when it headed for the inbound freight lane despite travelling on a tourist ticket.

The 25-year-old told officials he had no load onboard, having left Poland for the UK to collect Jet Skis and deliver them back to Warsaw, but when his sleeping area was checked they noticed the "very inflated" mattress, said prosecutor Christopher May.

Inside were 75 cocaine packages and 40 heroin packages, emblazoned with logos including 'BBC', 'Rolls-Royce' and 'PSG'.

Jailing him for 15 years, Judge Alison Russell said he only had his own "deliberate and foolish choices" made out of greed to blame.

Lucas Hook

A thug warned his girlfriend he would "put her to sleep" during a campaign of abuse and violence she said "tore her life apart".

Lucas Hook, from Folkestone, terrorised his victim to such an extent she now fears she can never trust another man.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that on at least five separate occasions he subjected her to assaults which included headbutting, kicking to the chest and leg, and grabbing her throat and the jealous 32-year-old also gripped her by her hair, stood on her foot, destroyed furniture and accused her of cheating during his angry, and sometimes drug- and drink-fuelled, outbursts.

Hook, who had previous convictions for domestic abuse, later admitted a string of offences, seven of which were carried out while he was on police bail and he was described by a judge as not only having a long-term psychological impact on his victim but also having "degraded her quality of life" and she was visibly distraught at his sentencing hearing and sobbed as she tried to tell the court how she had been affected by her ordeal.

The court heard he was first reported to police after he headbutted the woman in March last year, but while on bail Hook continued to repeatedly abuse and assault her over a six-week period and prosecutor James Ross described how during one episode of violence he had kicked open a door she had barricaded, which smashed against a chest of drawers causing it to collapse, and then put his hand on her throat, causing her to fear for her safety and on another occasion she was left with bruising after he kicked her leg and stood on her foot.

She was also winded by him forcibly booting her in the chest and suffered hair loss as a result of him pulling it "hard" and the threat to "put her to sleep" was made by Hook, said to be a musician, after he had spent the day drinking with friends and taking cocaine.

Hook, of Grimston Avenue, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to three offences of assault by beating and two of assault causing actual bodily harm, as well as controlling, coercive behaviour and damaging property and the court heard his previous convictions, dating back to 2010, include assault by beating, harassment of another ex-girlfriend and threatening to destroy property.

But when he spoke of Hook's "partial diagnosis" for autism and potentially ADHD, Judge Simon Taylor KC said neither conditions "reduced his culpability", and he jailed Hook for a total of three years and three months.

Stefan Farbrother

A tattooed sado-masochist was jailed for 18 years after raping a child 30 years ago in Kent.

Stefan Farbrother appeared at Maidstone Crown Court to be sentenced earlier this month after a jury convicted him last year on four counts of indecent assault and three rapes, as he had denied the offences.

Now the 47-year-old father will have to serve at least 12 years before he will be considered for parole and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

After the verdict last year, Judge Robert Lazarus read a report from Lancashire Police who investigated a complaint about the pervert.

Farbrother had left Kent moved to Halifax, Yorkshire, when he was reported to have been seen wearing a spiked dog lead and occasionally going on all fours and barking in Leyland, Lancashire.

The judge added that although the claims were probed by police, no charges were ever brought, but in the 1990s he used handcuffs and a knife to carry out his twisted sex attacks, which were brought to the attention of adults, police and social services but no action was taken.

Judge Lazarus said the attacks were horrific and carried out to satisfy his perversions and Prosecutor Tanya Robinson had revealed how he sexually assaulted his victim in Sevenoaks more than 30 years ago.

Ms Robinson said the victim had been left traumatised by the attacks, and had begun self-harming and wanted to kill herself.

Gary Young

A man who contacted his ex-girlfriend on social media despite a court ban was caught out by his own poor spelling.

Gary Young, a convicted flasher from Canterbury, was subject to an interim stalking protection order (SPO) when he sent the woman a series of messages via Facebook Messenger and then, having been blocked, an alias account.

Canterbury Crown Court heard his cover was blown when the victim not only recognised his writing style but also when police asked him to spell 'Somerset'.

One of his messages had made reference to the county as 'Summerset' - and matched the spelling Young dictated to officers after his arrest and the 48-year-old then confessed to contacting his former partner, saying he had been drinking and only wanted to wish her well.

At the time of his offending, he was subject to the SPO as well as a suspended sentence imposed in March last year for three offences of exposure and nine years ago Young was also convicted of bombarding another woman with sexually explicit phone calls.

In respect of Young's latest offences, prosecutor Craig Evans said the interim stalking order had been made in April last year for six months and prohibited him from having any form of direct or indirect contact with the victim.

However, he told the court that after she downloaded several apps to a new phone, two messages from the defendant appeared when she opened Facebook Messenger and the woman immediately blocked Young but less than a month later she discovered messages in her spam folder on the same app.

Young, of St Margaret's Crescent, later admitted two breaches of the SPO and, as a consequence, being in breach of the sentence of 54 weeks' custody suspended for two years and Judge Simon James said his history of ignoring court orders meant immediate imprisonment could not be avoided and jailed him for 12 months.

Lauchlan Pritchard

A father-to-be who led police on a 141-mile car chase across the country – before ending up in Kent – claimed he was rushing to get the birth of his child, a court heard.

Lauchlan Pritchard drove through red lights, attempted to ram police cars, and drove the wrong way on the dual carriageway in November last year.

When the 25-year-old was eventually stopped in West Malling he told officers he thought his driving had been “brilliant”.

Pritchard, of Pennine Road, Oakley, Cheltenham, was then arrested and taken into custody where he admitted that he didn’t have a driving licence or any insurance and also claimed he had no knowledge of the vehicle having cloned number plates.

He pleaded guilty at Cheltenham Magistrates Court the next day to dangerous driving and not having insurance or a valid licence and he was sentenced last month at Gloucester Crown Court to 12 months.

Prosecutor Neil Treharne told the court how at around 9pm on November 20, Gloucestershire Police were alerted to a Suzuki Vitara being around Cirencester on cloned number plates.

The court also heard he travelled through counties until Kent Police took over the pursuit and as Pritchard went through temporary red lights on Seven Mile Lane near Mereworth a stinger was deployed and it deflated the Suzuki’s tyres and brought the 141 mile pursuit to an end.

Pritchard was also disqualified from driving for three years from the date of his release from custody and the judge ordered that Pritchard take an extended test before obtaining his driving licence.

Jake Simms

A shop burglar was jailed after crashing into a police car following a high-speed chase through red lights and down one-way streets.

Jake Simms damaged a window and stole cash from the Co-op in Pound Road, East Peckham, Tonbridge before fleeing.

The 29-year-old travelled to the shop with an accomplice late at night and the pair forced their way into the premises on June 23, last year.

They stole two cash boxes before fleeing the scene and heading towards London in a Toyota Prius and the car was driven at excess speeds, through red traffic signals, and in the wrong direction through one-way streets.

It was pursued through south-east London and came to a halt near the River Thames in east London after colliding with a police vehicle and Simms was detained in the driver’s seat.

A bag containing a long screwdriver, gloves and a hammer that had been discarded from the vehicle during the pursuit was later recovered by a police dog handler and Simms, of Long Lane, Southwark, Greater London was later charged with burglary, dangerous driving, driving without a licence and driving without insurance.

Earlier this month he pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment and this included the activation of a suspended sentence.

Simms will be disqualified from driving for two years on his release from prison and will be required to take an extended driving test.

Matthew Bower

A paedophile spent thousands of pounds for six years directing the sexual abuse of children and paying for explicit images and videos.

Swanley pervert, Matthew Bower was jailed for 13 years earlier this month after an investigation found him to be paying for images of girls.

The 52-year-old would send money via Paypal asking for explicit photos and videos under different aliases and he was caught after a 15-year-old girl, spoke to police in the USA in August 2017, explaining how a female family member sexually abused her which she photographed – all for Bower’s depraved sexual gratification.

She was abused for months with the pictures sent overseas for a sum of money, an FBI investigation found and she was arrested and handed over an email address, username and Paypal details of the man she was taking photos for – all of which led to Bower.

He was arrested on August 22, 2017 and officers from the National Crime Agency searched his house and seized several devices and investigations showed the woman had sent Bower 308 images of herself with the victim, as well as two “live streamed” videos between 2016 and 2017.

Additional chat logs from Bower actively showed him trying to coerce others into sexually abusing young children and this included a woman in Romania who had been abusing a child under the age of two, as directed by Bower – the woman was later jailed for eight years.

Bower also contacted people via Skype encouraging them to send him naked photos and perform sexual acts on camera and two of his victims, aged eight and 15 and from the US, were identified as being victims of Bower coercing them to send him indecent images, the American authorities have since safeguarded both victims.

He initially told officers he had been the victim of hacking, but in October 2023, he pleaded guilty to 15 offences which included causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and it was eventually found Bower had made 1,700 indecent images of children, including category A images, across six years, and paid around £6,000 mainly for the abuse material and the offences Bower pleaded guilty to were committed between 2008 and 2017.

Chris Enaruba

A “dangerous” teenager who said he carried a knife for his own protection has been jailed for more than 10 years for fatally stabbing another teen.

Chris Enaruba, 19, knifed Denzel Njemo during an attack in Dartford High Street.

Enaruba and an associate had travelled to the town to meet the 18-year-old victim on the evening of April 14 last year.

An altercation broke out which saw Enaruba lunge at Mr Njemo with a knife, inflicting an injury to his leg and this led to a fight in a passage linking Suffolk Road and the high street and shortly after the victim was stabbed again, this time in the chest.

Police and paramedics were called but Mr Njemo, of College Place, Greenhithe, died at the scene and before officers arrived, Enaruba discarded his jacket and the knife near an electricity sub-station before heading to Darent Valley Hospital for treatment of some of his injuries.

Enaruba, of Copper Mead Close, Cricklewood, London, was charged with murder, which he denied, and a trial was held at Maidstone Crown Court in October.

A jury found the defendant not guilty, but instead convicted him on the lesser charge of manslaughter and the 19-year-old man who had travelled to Dartford with Enaruba was found not guilty of a charge of assisting an offender.

Earlier this month, Enaruba returned to Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing and he was deemed by the judge as “dangerous” and jailed for 11 years and will have to serve two thirds of the sentence before he can be considered for parole, and upon his release from prison will be subject to an additional licence period of four years.

Peter Orsman

A former senior nurse waged a four-month vendetta against a man which included a "malicious" outing of his sexuality on social media.

Peter Orsman, who was once employed by the East Kent Hospitals Trust, posted a collage of photos of the victim on Instagram branding him a liar.

The 53-year-old also set up a fake profile on the Grindr dating app, put a tracking device on the victim's car, forged hospital appointment letters "to waste his time" and destroyed his lawn with vinegar.

Canterbury Crown Court heard Orsman even vowed he would not give up his campaign until the man had "suffered enough and I have a smile on my face" and he first began to target the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in February last year, sending him multiple texts and emails containing "abusive and derogatory" language, said prosecutor Nasreen Shah.

In one message he told the man he had also followed him on three or four occasions and Orsman, who was living in Ashford at the time, then set up the Instagram account on which he shared the man's personal information.

"Multiple comments were left on the post and they were designed to out the victim," Ms Shah told the court and she added: "He also wrote to his place of work in an effort to undermine him and sent him false appointments by creating fake NHS letters to waste his time.

Orsman, now of no fixed address, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm or distress and the court heard he had no previous convictions but received a caution in 2021 for possessing a Class A drug and lost his job in the NHS as a result, and John FitzGerald, defending, said Orsman then found work in the private sector but, following his conviction, the nursing career he had held since he was 18 had now ended.

Jailing Orsman for 10 months, Recorder Daniel Stevenson told him that he was "very much the author" of his own misfortune and he was also given a five-year restraining order banning any contact with the victim, attending his home address and workplace, and posting about him on social media.

Curtis Tipton

A prolific shoplifter who stole more than £1,000 worth of items from several shops and supermarkets was jailed this month.

Curtis Tipton targeted stores in Folkestone, stealing alcohol and luxury items to the sum of about £1,400, between January 3 and 10 this year.

Police were alerted to the offences and arrested the 53-year-old man on January 11.

He was charged with four counts of theft and appeared before Folkestone Magistrates Court on January 17 where he was sentenced.

Tipton, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison.

He was also handed a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).

With the CBO in place, Tipton is prohibited from re-entering the businesses he stole from.

It is also forbidden for Tipton to remain in any shop if the staff require him to leave.

Scott Barham

A callous ram-raid burglar who forced newsagents of almost 40 years into retirement was jailed for four years.

Scott Barham's sentencing hearing at Canterbury Crown Court also heard how his five-week crime spree left a man's marriage plans in tatters.

One victim has been unable to travel to his native Afghanistan to wed his fiancee after his identity documents were stolen, while the owners of St Stephens News in the city - Anne and Richard Manuel - were pushed into early retirement.

Another homeowner was left so scared after being woken during an attempted burglary by Barham at their rural property that they spend their nights watching newly-installed security cameras.

But, having decided to "sack" his lawyer and represent himself in court, all the heartless crook could offer in mitigation was a "hollow" apology while blaming his brother for getting him "bang on the crack".

The 38-year-old, who has never worked and has a criminal record dating back 21 years with 18 previous convictions for 45 offences, targeted his first victims in the early hours of October 7 last year.

Following his arrest in November, Barham, of Beckett Avenue, Canterbury, gave a "no comment" interview but later pleaded guilty to two offences of burglary, one of attempted burglary, fraud by false representation and allowing himself to be carried in a stolen vehicle.

But on jailing him for four years, Recorder Sarah Counsell rejected his apology and said she hoped the prison sentence would provide "some comfort" for his victims.

Barham previously made headlines in 2013 when he dim-wittedly used his prison licence and bail notice for ID purposes to pawn a stolen camcorder, and was also banned from driving for five years.

Asghar Gheshalghian

A people smuggler who laundered money through his networks has been jailed for eight years.

Iranian Asghar Gheshalghian, accepted money from migrants wishing to cross the channel in boats and then released the funds to the criminal gangs, all while charging commission.

The 48-year-old, who operated a rug company from an office block in Wood Green as a front for his criminal activities, was arrested by National Crime Agency officers in February 2021.

During a two-year investigation, phone evidence showed links with at least eight Iranian migrants who later arrived in the UK by boat or lorry and claimed asylum and investigators also obtained covert recordings of him talking to associates on the phone, admitting that “70-80% of our business is illegal”.

Officers also recovered ledgers outlining transactions, while financial investigators were able to evidence around £1.6 million in payments into his bank accounts.

Evidence was also obtained from an ITV documentary where undercover reporters approached a people smuggler in northern France, who discussed sending money through a broker called “Mr G” – Gheshalghian.

In other conversations he was heard bragging that people smuggling gangs trusted him to deal with financial transactions on their behalf and he said: “They approve me, they know I won’t cheat on them, once the task is completed – money”.

Following his arrest, the NCA searched his business premises, a storage lock-up and his home in East Ham, seizing about £50,000 in cash and following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, Gheshalghian was found guilty of five counts of money laundering and facilitating illegal immigration and was handed a eight-year jail term.

Nikolai Kuznetsov

A Russian lorry driver was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to smuggling migrants from the UK to France.

Nikolai Kuznetsov was stopped by Border Force officers on August 17 at Dover Docks.

A search of his trailer found 22 migrants, including a five-year girl and her parents, hiding inside.

The migrants, who were all of North African origin, were attempting to avoid French border immigration and visa controls.

Kuznetsov, 39, was arrested by officers from the National Crime Agency on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry to an EU member state.

He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity at Canterbury Magistrates Court, and was sentenced earlier this month to four years and four months in prison.

John Turner, operations manager at the NCA said: “Kuznetsov was complicit with the people smugglers whose only concern was making money, rather than the well-being of those individuals found in his trailer.

“Thankfully they were found and safeguarded, but we know organised crime groups will continue in their attempts to use migrants to make money.”

Danny Mackney

A sex offender was jailed after targeting a child for two years.

Danny Mackney, from Sidcup, subjected his young victim to countless instances of sexual abuse between 2018 and 2020.

The 37-year-old, of Harman Drive, groomed his victim before bombarding them with sexually explicit messages and images, demanding they then send some in return.

He was arrested in November 2020 and pleaded not guilty at Woolwich Crown Court to two counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of making indecent images of a child.

Mackney was convicted following a trial and sentenced earlier this month to four years and six months’ imprisonment.

He will also be subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Investigating officer, DC Josh Whitehead, of the West Kent child protection team, said: “Mackney knowingly groomed a child before subjecting them to repeated abuse over an extended period of time.

“This criminal gave no consideration to the impact his vile actions would have on his victim, thinking only of his own gratification.”

Uttam Gurung

A drug dealer caught red-handed with class A drugs hidden in his clothing was locked up.

Uttam Gurung, 26, was found to have 50 wraps of class A drugs - including ‘crack’ cocaine and heroin - on his person when he was detained by officers in New Street, Ashford on Thursday, October 26 last year.

It followed an investigation by Kent Police’s County Lines and Gangs Team, in which Gurung’s car was identified by detectives as being linked to drug dealing.

The car was subsequently searched by local patrols, who found cannabis, a cannabis grinder, a mobile phone and a quantity of cash inside the vehicle.

A further search of Gurung’s home address uncovered a larger amount of money and a second mobile phone.

Gurung, of Adams Drive, Willesborough was charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug and two counts of supplying class A substances.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and earlier this month at Canterbury Crown Court, was sentenced to three years in prison.

DC Andy Julier said: “The misuse of drugs causes no end of misery to people's lives and we are sending out a very clear message to drug dealers: their attempts to exploit some of the most vulnerable people in our communities will not be tolerated.”