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There were a lot of people who committed crimes and were jailed for their offences last month.
Here’s just some of the criminals – including burglars, drug dealers, conmen, killers, police officers, thieves and perverts – who were locked up in October.
Ian McQuaide
A thug slashed his girlfriend’s throat with a bread knife and then smoked a cigarette while she lay alone with a serious injury.
Ian McQuaide had called the emergency services himself following the “horrific attack” at a flat in Herne Bay on September 5 last year.
Paramedics arrived at the scene in Central Parade and gave the woman life-saving medical attention before she was taken to a London hospital for further treatment and, after the victim told officers that McQuaide had caused her injuries, they searched the scene and recovered two knives and discovered the assault had taken place in the bathroom.
McQuaide had claimed the victim's wound was self-inflicted, before going outside to smoke a cigarette. He was initially charged with the attempted murder of Janet Gadsby but denied attempting to kill the woman, who he had been in a relationship with.
But on the day of his trial at Canterbury Crown Court earlier this year, moments before a jury was due to be sworn, he pleaded guilty to the lesser alternative charge of wounding with intent.
McQuaide, of Forrester Close, Canterbury, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and a separate charge of controlling or coercive behaviour between October 2020 and September 2022, towards the same victim and last month, he was jailed at the same court for 11 years.
He will serve an extra four years on licence after that term and will be the subject of an indefinite restraining order protecting the victim.
McQuaide was also in breach of a suspended sentence order for a previous assault at the time and also admitted assaulting another woman known to him and causing criminal damage to her property on June 20 last year.
Terry Agombar
A drug dealer who arranged to buy and sell hundreds of thousands of pounds of cocaine was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Terry Agombar, from Dartford, arranged to buy and sell a minimum of 10 kilograms of the drug between April and June 2020.
However, he had been unaware that his messages to other criminals he thought were encrypted could be recovered by international law enforcement agencies.
Messages from a person using the name serialcod, who spoke about the large-scale purchase of cocaine in Kent, were passed to police.
Investigators were able to identify Agombar as the person using the false name.
The 32-year-old of William Mundy Way, Dartford, was arrested on November 30, 2020.
He was later charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court.
Last month, he was sentenced to seven years and eight months in jail.
Bobby Green
A bottle-brandishing thug who left an 18-year-old having to wear dentures after knocking out his teeth was locked up for more than two years.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Bobby Green repeatedly punched the teenager after trying to mug him and a friend while they were on a night out celebrating a birthday.
At the time of the unprovoked attack in Broadstairs, Green was on bail to two different courts for burglary, theft and knife offences, with a condition that he live in local authority accommodation.
The 17-year-old was also in breach of an electronically-monitored curfew when he violently assaulted his victim near The Dolphin pub in Albion Street at around 11.30pm on March 3 when he and an unnamed accomplice were captured on CCTV running up to the two teenagers before demanding their belongings and threatening to stab them.
Although a knife was never produced, the boys were in fear when one of their assailants reached into their trouser waistband. Green then punched the teen twice in the face after his accomplice had grabbed the other by the arm and the victim suffered extensive damage to his teeth. Three were knocked out, a fourth was broken and two sustained nerve damage.
He now has to wear dentures and, due to his young age, must wait four years before he can undergo further dental treatment.
Green, of York Road, Herne Bay, was identified from the CCTV footage and arrested 12 days later when police found him sitting on a sofa smoking cannabis.
At the time of the violent mugging bid, he was on magistrates' court bail for a charge of possessing a knife in a public place, as well as awaiting sentence at the crown court after admitting offences of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to burgle.
These related to a six-week crime spree last year in which Green was part of a gang who netted a reported £100k from breaking into homes thieving cars, number plates, bank cards and fuel.
He also pleaded guilty to two offences of attempted robbery and one of inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for a total of two years and five months.
Kye Hughes
A conman tricked his lover into giving him more than £175k, claiming he would invest the money in expensive watches.
Privately-educated Kye Hughes, from Rochester, wooed his victim with tales of his life as a musician and an actor.
But last month a judge heard how Hughes fleeced her and her family until she was left almost penniless. At the time, his victim – who he met through online dating site Plenty of Fish – was driving a Mercedes and working as an engineer.
Maidstone Crown Court heard how she was left fearful of being attacked by mystery men and was so devastated by what had happened she moved house and, for a while, her hair fell out.
Hughes, 34, of Maidstone Road, Rochester, was jailed for 40 months after admitting fraud and laundering the money.
Judge Recorder Daniel Stevenson heard that despite living a lavish lifestyle, Hughes still has £80k of her money in his bank account, while she works 12-hour shifts to repay her parents after borrowing money from them.
The victim initially handed over £105k. Hughes claimed he was a musician but also invested in luxury watches "for extra money" and in August 2017, he began putting pressure on her – claiming it was coming from a third party – and sent aggressive messages asking for more cash, but in fact was funnelling some of the money into his personal account.
Hughes blew £80k on "lifestyle" purchases including £3.5k on plastic surgery, £5.4k at a jeweller’s, between £1k and £2k at Bluewater regularly, holiday trips to Portugal and Turkey and £1.2k on Louis Vuitton fashion products.
When he was finally quizzed by police in 2018, Hughes blamed his ex-lover claiming they were both in "some kind of insurance fraud", but after jailing Hughes, Judge Recorder Daniel Stevenson said Hughes’ fraud had caused his victim physical harm, and the judge ordered an investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover some of the money.
Thomas Hill
A police officer who formed an inappropriate sexual relationship with a suspect he was ordered to supervise in hospital was jailed.
Canterbury-based PC Thomas Hill had been asked to look after the woman at Margate’s QEQM as she received treatment following her arrest in December 2020.
Hill initiated a sexualised conversation with her in hospital and later contacted her on social media and the pair also exchanged explicit texts, with some of them read out in court.
Prosecutors at Southwark Crown Court said the former PC messaged the woman “I want to slide deep inside you” and “I kept myself awake with stimulating thoughts x.”
The ex-officer even went to the woman’s house, where he “acted in an unprofessional manner” towards her and in one text message he intimated there had been physical contact between the pair, writing: “I did enjoy your hands on me”.
Hill would later confess to his supervisors about the relationship after the woman threatened to disclose the matter to his employer and the 35-year-old admitted a charge of misconduct in public office at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in July and last month, was jailed for six months.
The conviction came following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation which began in May 2021 following a mandatory conduct referral from Kent Police earlier that month.
As part of its efforts, the IOPC looked at the circumstances surrounding PC Hill’s initial and continued contact with the woman and whether his actions were in accordance with relevant legislation, local and national policies and procedures.
Michael McTigue and William French
Two men were jailed after an antique violin worth more than £10,000 and other items were stolen from cars.
Michael McTigue and William French targeted parked vehicles in and around Sevenoaks and Hildenborough between October 2022 and April 2023.
As well as the expensive musical equipment, golf clubs and tools were also taken and the pair were arrested on May 12 after an investigation by the west Kent victim-based crime team led to three warrants and searches of properties in Berkshire and south east London.
More than 300 golf clubs and 11 guitars were discovered in the raid and French, 36, was spotted on CCTV visiting a specialist musical instrument shop in Oxford shortly after the theft of the violin – it was sold on the day but later recovered and returned to the victim.
Both men were charged with conspiracy to steal and French was also charged with four counts of theft.
McTigue, 36, of McMillan Steet, Deptford, and French, of Spackman Close, Thatcham, Berkshire, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court.
Last month, McTigue was sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment and French was jailed for three years.
Investigating officer, PC Stuart Hosiene, said: “Our investigation has linked at least 23 separate offences to McTigue and French and they would target multi-storey car parks or private complexes, before smashing the windows of vehicles and stealing items of high value.
“Both men have an extensive criminal history for these types of offences, often involving the theft of golfing equipment worth several thousand pounds and whilst we have thankfully been able to return a number of these items to their rightful owners, sadly much of what they stole is still missing.”
Xheladin Thaci
A drug dealer was jailed after 90 bags of cocaine were found stashed in a car he was driving.
Xheladin Thaci was followed by police after they spotted an Audi speeding in Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells.
Officers saw the vehicle stop in Grange Gardens, where a woman walked over to the car and got into the passenger seat.
The policing team approached and detained the driver, Thaci, for a drug search.
Seventy bags of cocaine were recovered from the driver’s door pocket, and a further 20 were found hidden inside a cigarette packet. A mobile phone was also recovered.
Thaci, of Islip Road, Oxford, was arrested, but refused to give officers the PIN to his phone, and was later charged with possessing cocaine with intent to supply and driving without insurance for the June 24 offences.
The 25-year-old admitted the charges at Maidstone Crown Court last month and was jailed for two years and one month.
DC Nell Shortis, of West Kent CID, said: “Another dealer seeking to supply cocaine in Kent has been brought to justice.”
To see the criminals locked up in September click here.
Anthony Deeprose
A banned motorist, who used his car to try to kill two soldiers in Maidstone, was given a 30-year extended jail sentence.
Father-of-three Anthony Deeprose deliberately ran over the head of one soldier and knocked his colleague over the bonnet of the car he was driving after an argument outside Wetherspoons in Maidstone.
As he was being sentenced, the family and friends of the 30-year-old erupted in fury repeatedly screaming: "No-one f***** died."
Judge Philip Statman left the bench at Maidstone Crown Court as security staff and police officers ushered the angry mob away.
But before they left, they turned on the victims of the unprovoked assaults who were sitting quietly with colleagues.
The sentencing hearing was interrupted for 15 minutes before the judge was able to return to complete sentencing of Deeprose, who had apologised for their behaviour.
A jury at Maidstone Crown Court convicted him on two charges of attempted murder after hearing how one of the soldiers had suffered life-changing head wounds.
Judge Statman ruled that Deeprose still posed a danger to the public and gave him an immediate 27-year jail term before adding an extra three years which he will serve when he is finally released.
Shpendi Hakili
A man who claimed he once rescued his wife from kidnappers was jailed for six-and-a-half years after killing a love rival over a £20,000 debt.
Shpendi Hakili, 38, was found guilty of manslaughter after trial at Maidstone Crown Court following the incident in Strood.
Hakili denied causing the death of Sazan Bako, 35, in Cuxton Road at about 8.45pm on November 20.
Mr Bako, from Maidstone, had become involved in an argument with Hakili, from Glasgow, which resulted in him being assaulted.
The force of the assault caused the 35-year-old to fall backwards and hit his head on the pavement. He died in hospital three weeks later.
The jury heard how Hakili lost his temper and struck the victim across the face "without warning or provocation”, and last month, Judge Julian Smith told him there was no justification for what he did and he could find no evidence of remorse.
He said the incident, which was caught on camera, revealed no actions from Mr Bako which were threatening and following the incident, officers from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate launched an investigation and initially arrested two people in connection with his death, but they were later released without charge.
Ivor Jones
A 78-year-old man who repeatedly abused a young girl, leaving her fearing "monsters who hide behind the friend mask", was jailed.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Ivor Jones "manipulated and groomed" the child, plying her with cigarettes, alcohol and money.
The woodcutter, of Lyminge, near Folkestone, was in his late 50s when he subjected her to a variety of sexual acts in several locations, including his workshop, local woods and a truck.
The victim later reported him to police, saying she wanted to protect other women and children, and bravely gave evidence at Jones's trial earlier this year.
He denied six offences of sexual activity with a child and one of causing a child to engage in sexual activity but was unanimously convicted by a jury.
He returned to Canterbury Crown Court for sentencing last month – and heard the devastating impact his deviant behaviour had on her life.
Jailing Jones for six years, Judge Douglas Marks Moore said although he could take the pensioner's previous good character into consideration, he had to be punished for what was "an extremely serious series of offences".
On his release from prison, Jones will be subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite requirement to sign on the sex offender register.
Joshua Bragg and Aaron Martin
Two burglars who stole high-value cars after breaking into houses were locked up.
Joshua Bragg and Aaron Martin were each sentenced to three years and nine months in prison after they stole BMWs and Mercedes from outside homes in Dartford and Gravesend.
The pair targeted seven addresses between April 1 and May 17 forcing open the front door to houses in the middle of the night and stealing car keys and other valuables including jewellery, phones and computer tablets.
Bragg, 22, of Bell Farm Avenue, Dagenham, and Martin, 20, of Triumph Close, Colchester, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court and both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.
Investigating officer DC Dan Bister said: “These burglars travelled into Kent and broke into homes while the occupants were often asleep upstairs.
“They thought they could leave the county and avoid being arrested but this was a misjudgement.
“We tracked them down and gained sufficient evidence to bring them to justice and place them behind bars.
“Our team has successfully convicted numerous crime gangs over the last five years and any burglars thinking of following their example, can expect a prompt and robust response from our officers.”
Imani and Kinley Abrahams
A court heard a four-year-old child was forced to flee for cover after a gun was fired during a “showdown” between two rivals.
The girl and her father were standing in the road as a weapon was fired just feet away from the frightened youngster.
Last month, father and son Kinley and Imani Abrahams, from London, were sent to prison for more than four years for possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear.
Drug dealer Imani was involved in an ongoing feud with a man he believed had disrespected him and the 23-year-old called his rival to say he was travelling to Melbourne Road, Chatham, on January 30 last year for a showdown.
Before the incident, some people armed themselves with items including baseball bats as the Abrahams travelled from south London.
Maidstone Crown Court heard that as they arrived, the innocent father and daughter were walking along the road when a loud sound was heard.
The incident was caught on nearby cameras and shown to the judge.
The father later told police how he was visiting a relative when he saw a group of people. In a victim impact statement, he admitted he feared the gun was real and his daughter was too frightened to play outside now.
Jack Usher
A teenager subjected a woman to an "extremely violent and terrifying" rape attempt as she walked through woods alone.
Jack Usher, 18, repeatedly punched his victim and ignored her desperate pleas to stop during an ordeal described by a judge as "absolute horror", Canterbury Crown Court was told.
He did not know the woman and had been seen by others to be lurking in the area shortly before the attack dressed in a heavy coat despite the warm weather.
Usher, of Marsh Crescent, New Romney, pleaded guilty to attempted rape, assault with intent to commit a sexual offence, and assault causing actual bodily harm.
Ruling last month that he posed a danger to the public and that his "harrowing" attack was "every lone woman's nightmare", Judge Mark Weekes imposed an extended sentence comprising six years and nine months' custody with a further six years added to any licence period.
Usher, who appeared in court via prison video link, was told he will have to serve at least two-thirds of the custodial period before he can apply for parole.
The court heard the woman was walking through woodland in Greatstone when she was attacked in May.
The victim later picked Usher out in a police identity procedure, as did witnesses who had also seen him in the woods and his DNA was also recovered.
George Mason
A masked intruder who subjected residents at a religious retreat to a violent armed raid was put behind bars after being bravely tackled by his victims.
A judge said it was "fortunate for the interests of justice" they had overpowered and restrained career criminal George Mason after he and his accomplices had "obliterated the peace and sanctuary" at St Augustine's Abbey in Ramsgate.
Canterbury Crown Court heard it was the eighth time in less than 10 years that the retreat – once a Benedictine monastery and now owned by the Vincentian Congregation – had been targeted.
Mason, 29, of High Street, Margate, and two unidentified men broke in during the early hours of July 7 and all had their faces covered, one was brandishing a metal wrench and £1,000 worth of damage was caused.
Many of the occupants, who were visiting from abroad, were asleep or saying prayers when they were confronted by their assailants who threatened to tie up, stab and even kill some of the victims as money was demanded and rooms ransacked.
One man was made to lie on the floor where he was kicked while a priest was pinned onto his bed, but it was as the burglars were fleeing with about £1,300 that the residents grabbed Mason around his middle and held onto him until police arrived.
Mason was arrested and pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and he also admitted breaching a nine-month suspended sentence order that had been imposed just four months prior to the abbey raid for five offences of violence and theft against an ex-partner, her relative and a male friend.
The court was told his 25 previous convictions for 38 offences including seven for burglary and attempted burglary and Mason was jailed for a total of eight years.
Nigel Stewart
A pervert who sent graphic sexual images to a child he thought was just 14 was jailed.
Canterbury sex offender Nigel Stewart, 55, was tracked down after trying to coerce his victim into performing sex acts.
Stewart, of Gordon Road, targeted his would-be victim over several weeks starting on September 13, 2022.
During this time, he was made aware of the fact that she was just 14 years old on numerous occasions, but unbeknownst to him, he was in fact interacting with a fictitious profile.
An investigation by Kent Police’s paedophile online investigation team secured evidence demonstrating he had intentionally sent indecent messages to an underage girl.
On October 18 of the same year, officers carried out a search at his home address and he was arrested and a mobile phone was seized from the scene.
Following a lengthy and complex investigation, Stewart was charged and appeared before Canterbury Crown Court in August where he pleaded guilty to attempting sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity.
He was sentenced to two years and 11 months’ imprisonment at the same court last month and he is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next 10 years.
Ben Quinton-Taylor
A man who sexually assaulted a girl over two years was locked up for more than a decade.
Ben Quinton-Taylor was sentenced after admitting to a number of charges against three separate victims.
Quinton-Taylor, now 47, was charged after a woman reported that in the mid 2000s he had sexually assaulted her as a child of primary school age inside a property in Gillingham.
Detectives began investigating the sexual predator after the allegations were made in September 2019, eventually arresting him in February 2020.
Following an investigation, he was charged with assault by penetration in June 2022.
Appearing at Canterbury Crown Court last month, Canterbury High Street resident Quinton-Taylor pleaded guilty to the offence and was jailed for 11 years.
He also admitted criminal damage and two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour and these charges were brought following allegations by two further victims relating to separate offences.
As well as being jailed he was handed restraining orders preventing him from contacting all three victims. He was also added to the sex offenders’ register for life and a sexual harm prevention order was also imposed, which seeks to prevent him from reoffending.
Sebastian Iszlzylowicz
A lorry driver with more than £2.5m of heroin "openly on display" in his cab split between a cool bag, holdall and in his bunkbed, was jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
Sebastian Iszlzylowicz, 28, was stopped at Dover docks on April 22 and his "quite valuable" 25kg consignment was found divided up into 1kg packages.
Canterbury Crown Court heard four were in a yellow cool bag, 10 in the black holdall, and the remainder behind the lining of the bed area.
The Polish national, who was carrying a load of bread in his trailer, denied knowing about the heroin.
But a judge told him the fact the drugs had not been secreted in his truck suggested he had been "trusted not to panic" at the size of the illicit cargo he was carrying and had "some understanding and awareness" of the scale of the operation.
Iszlzylowicz had pleaded not guilty to drug smuggling but was convicted by a jury last month after a three-day trial.
On sentencing, Judge Mark Weekes concluded that Iszlyzlowicz's motive was financial reward.
At the time of the offence he was going through a divorce – his marriage having failed after just six weeks – and was living in his cab having been recently released from prison for breaching a community order in his native country.
Kenneth Marr
A young girl molested by a devout churchgoer told police her abuser left her feeling “super sad and mad”.
Canterbury Crown Court heard Kenneth Marr befriended and groomed the child before taking advantage of her on two occasions.
Last month, the agricultural worker started a six-and-a-half year jail term, having been found guilty of two offences of assault by penetration by majority verdicts of 10 to two.
Prosecutor Daniel Stevenson told the jury Marr, who met his victim in Ashford, claimed the girl had been "encouraged by others" to make up the allegations.
But the prosecutor said the 62-year-old had "an unhealthy sexual interest" in the youngster and "took the opportunity" to molest her, his DNA was also found in her underwear.
As well as denying the two offences of assault by penetration, Marr, of Weston Road, Congresbury, Bristol, also denied one of sexual assault and was acquitted by the same jury of that charge.
Judge Simon Taylor KC imposed an extended sentence of six-and-a-half years' imprisonment with a further one year added to any licence period.
On his release from prison, Marr will have to sign on the sex offender register indefinitely and will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order.
Gavin Prodger
A former taxi driver who killed a 10-year-old girl – nicknamed Lollypop – while under the influence of cocaine was jailed.
Lily Lockwood died after being struck by a car as she went to get sweets near her home in Stone, Dartford.
Last month, a judge jailed Gavin Prodger, 53, for 12 years and after serving a minimum of at least eight, he will then serve another two years on licence when he is freed.
Prodger, who pleaded guilty to causing her death while having excess drugs in his system, including cocaine, stood with his head bowed in the dock when he was sentenced. He was also banned from driving for 17 years.
Prodger, of Beaulieu Rise, Rochester, was also speeding in his Audi when the collision happened and the court was also told he had been using his phone in the minutes prior to the accident on July 10, 2021.
The Brent Primary School pupil, of Radfield Drive, was struck by Prodger’s yellow Audi S1 and the impact was caught on CCTV and shown in court.
Maidstone Crown Court was told Lily’s family donated her organs and she helped save two adults and two children.
Prodger wrote a letter to the judge saying he was remorseful but the judge told him he had no genuine remorse and understanding about what he had done.
Tony Jackson
A burglar who targeted multiple businesses while trying to disguise himself with a mask and woolly hat was jailed.
Tony Jackson, of Burnt Oak Terrace, Gillingham, stole from a number of traders on the Medway City Estate in Strood, in August.
The 62-year-old targeted shipping container units at seven businesses by forcing open the main doors and windows and then proceeded to steal cash, a laptop computer, mobile phone and other portable items valued at more than £1,800.
Businesses targeted included LouLou’s Sandwich Bar and parlour, Box Six Tattoos in Culpeper Close, as well as a barber shop and hair salon.
After victims circulated CCTV images of one of the burglaries, Jackson was recognised by a member of the public and a local police officer.
An investigation was launched by the Medway Victim Based Crime Team and additional evidence was gathered from mobile phone data and more footage from the area.
It led to Jackson being arrested by police on September 2 and he was later charged with seven burglaries, and first appeared before Medway Magistrates’ Court on September 4 where he originally denied all the offences.
However, he changed his plea to guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on October 19, and was locked up for three years.
Ryan Bragg
A drug dealer was jailed after pictures of him posing with decks of cash were found on his phone.
Ryan Bragg was arrested when officers executed a warrant at his property in Moat Lane, Canterbury, on November 21.
Two large knives, £11,000, and around 320g of cocaine, which has an estimated street value of £30,000, were seized during the search.
The 21-year-old tried to flee the scene by climbing out of a window but was stopped by officers and detained. A phone found contained messages showing it had been used to arrange drug deals in the city as well as photos of him posing with huge piles of money.
Bragg was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to supply, which he admitted at Canterbury Crown Court on September 1 and last month, he was jailed for three years at the same court with more court hearings to recover proceeds of crime planned.
Det Sgt Jon Saxby described Bragg as a “remorseless drug dealer”.
“Photos found on devices in this investigation show Ryan Bragg was a remorseless drug dealer who was happy to profit from the addictions and misery of often vulnerable people,” he said.
“The knives found in his possession illustrate the serious violence that all too regularly goes hand in hand with drug dealing, and I'm glad he is now off the streets of Canterbury.”
Titoo Tahir
A child sex offender posed as a teenage boy before travelling by train to meet his young victim and abuse him.
Titoo Tahir first spoke to his victim through social media, and told the youngster he was between 15 and 17 and then headed to Strood station on September 11 to meet him.
Tahir, who was in fact 38, then took the teenager to an abandoned warehouse where he sexually abused him and threatened him if he did not comply with his demands.
The teen was then made to meet Tahir the next day when Tahir made the boy go back to the building so he could abuse him again and he also gave the boy cash and told him to keep quiet.
A few days later his victim was able to disclose what had happened and the police were called. Officers quickly linked Tahir to the offences and found was already in prison within The Metropolitan Police area having committed similar offences there.
Following inquiries – including obtaining DNA, mobile phone and CCTV evidence – Tahir was charged with seven sexual offences including three counts of inciting a boy aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.
He admitted all seven charges and was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court. Tahir, from Chamberlayne Road, London, was jailed for six-and-a-half years and upon release will remain on licence for four years.
He was jailed earlier in the month for similar offences committed in Bromley where he was sentenced to four years and one month. He will serve both sentences concurrently.
Damian Cousins
A serial paedophile with convictions dating back more than 20 years targeted a young boy and abused him leaving him with flashbacks and nightmares.
Canterbury Crown Court heard how former Ramsgate resident Damian Cousins groomed the boy with cigarettes, sweets and McDonald's food before abusing him.
The boy also suffered with anger and self-harming issues, and a potential PTSD diagnosis and the court heard his 49-year-old attacker had committed 31 previous sexual offences against children since 2002 and was subject to both a life licence and probation supervision when the abuse happened in an abandoned building in Ramsgate.
Cousins even confessed to a cellmate – while in prison on remand in 2019 for an offence of child abduction of the same victim – how he had molested him and destroyed any evidence on his phone by throwing it into a river, but it was not revealed by the boy himself until six months after Cousins was jailed for more than five years in September 2020 for that abduction offence, telling police he now "felt safe".
The convicted pervert was originally prosecuted only for child abduction and breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification requirements, as the victim had not told police about the sexual assaults he had also endured, but in March 2021, the youngster finally disclosed his ordeal.
Cousins was serving his five-year and three-month jail term when police went to see him but he refused to be interviewed.
However, he later admitted four offences of sexual assault and two of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and appeared for sentencing last month when the court heard his sexual offending dated back to March 2002, when he molested a boy and was charged with 28 offences and jailed for 18 months.
In 2008, he was handed an indeterminate sentence with a minimum tariff of 30 months for crimes against another two children and he ended up staying inside for 10 years, but just seven months after his release in 2018 on life licence, he had reoffended. Last month, Judge Simon Taylor KC said he had to bear in mind Cousins had already been "partly" punished in 2020 for the harm caused to the same victim and therefore had to avoid "double counting".
Judge Taylor concluded Cousins posed a high risk of harm, and imposed a 12-year extended sentence to protect the public, so therefore, jailed him for four years, of which he will have to serve at least two-thirds, with a further eight years added to any licence period. He will continue to be subject to the life licence attached to his sentence in 2008.
