IT has been another busy year for the criminal justice system across mid-Cheshire, with several high profile cases resulting in lengthy prison sentences.
Among those sentenced were murderers, paedophiles and drug dealers.
The year began with one of the most high profile crimes to have happened on the patch in several years.
Alex Rodda killer Matthew Mason sentenced to life
A four-week long trial, which began before Christmas, returned a majority guilty verdict on January 7.
Teenager Mathew Mason had denied deliberately killing 15-year-old Alex Rodda in woodland in Ashely on December 12, 2019.
However, after several hours of deliberating, the jury didn't believe him and Mason was found guilty.
He returned to Chester Crown on January 25 where he was sentenced to life imprisonment, and told he will serve a minimum term of 28 years.
That minimum tariff was reduced to 26 years after a successful appeal in June.
READ> Murderer Matthew Mason has his sentence reduced for killing 15-year-old Alex Rodda
Winsford paedophile who raped child 'boasted' about his sexual abuse
January also saw a Winsford man jailed after he admitted subjecting a girl to a campaign of sexual abuse, including rape.
Ashley Wilson, 32, had already pleaded guilty to 12 counts of sexual assault against a child under the age of 13, and to seven more charges related to the distribution of indecent images of children.
Wilson was a coach at Northwich-based Cheshire Gymnastics, where he once held the position of Welfare Officer, with a responsibility for its centres at Holmes Chapel and South Cheshire.
Judge Patrick Thompson told Wilson he had committed the most gross abuse of trust you could imagine before he handed him the 15-year jail term.
READ> Winsford paedophile jailed for raping a child
Woman said she was 'in fear of Scousers' after being caught with heroin and crack cocaine
A NORTHWICH woman who said she was 'in fear of Scousers' has was jailed on January 29 for her part in an attempt to supply heroin and crack cocaine in the town.
Lynette Jade Thompson, 34, of Lilac Drive was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison after being found with dozens of wraps of the Class A drugs worth thousands of pounds.
She was being sentenced at Chester Crown Court via a live video link to HMP Styal, having previous pleaded guilty to the offences.
READ> Northwich woman jailed for heroin and crack cocaine dealing
Monster who beat toddler to death jailed for life with minimum term of 19 years
A MONSTER who beat a toddler to death was jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years in March.
Jonathan Simpson, of no fixed address but from Winsford, Cheshire, was meant to be looking after his girlfriend’s 22-month-old son Jacob Marshall while she visited the hairdressers.
Instead, he subjected the youngster to a brutal attack – inflicting injuries similar to those that would have been inflicted in a high-speed car crash.
The 25-year-old was found unanimously guilty of murder by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court, after three hours and 49 minutes of deliberations following a 12-day trial.
Three jailed after stealing 19 vehicles from across Cheshire – including Northwich, Knutsford and Wilmslow
THREE men from Manchester were jailed in May for a total of almost 10 years after stealing at least 19 vehicles across Cheshire, including Northwich.
They even stole £92,000 worth of cars in one night from a garage on the outskirts of the town.
Chester Crown Court heard how the 19 vehicles were stolen from homes and business premises in Northwich, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Alderley Edge.
Ex-dentist used pub Wifi to view sexually explicit images of children
A FORMER dentist ‘simply couldn’t stop himself’ from downloading more than 1,000 images of children and using Wifi in pubs to view illicit content.
Andrew Wolverson, who has been jailed twice in the last 12 years for similar offences, now finds himself back in prison after admitting the offences as well as breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
The 69-year-old, formerly of Webbs Court, Northwich, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, October 26, from custody – where he has been since May – and was handed a three-year sentence.
‘Deviant’ golf pro jailed after downloading thousands of indecent images of children
A ‘DEVIANT’ golf pro has been jailed after he admitted downloading thousands of indecent images of children.
Charles Cuff, of Drillfield Road, Northwich, also pleaded guilty to a charge of voyeurism after filming himself and a woman having sex.
The 56-year-old, who is also known as Bruce, also had dozens of videos of the woman undressing and in the shower, which he captured using covert cameras.
Cuff was sentenced to serve 18 months behind bars when he appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday, November 22.
Disgraced community jailed for abusing two boys
A MAN once labelled as Knutsford’s ‘community hero’ was jailed for eight years after ‘systematically’ abusing two teenage boys.
Chester Crown Court heard Kane Gunter, formerly of Longridge, groomed the two boys – the youngest being 13 at the time the abuse began – and filmed what he did to them.
At a previous hearing, the 56-year-old pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual activity, as well as making and possessing indecent images of children.
Appearing at court for sentencing on Thursday, November 25, Gunter was told by the judge he had an ‘unhealthy interest in children’.
READ> DISGRACED COMMUNITY HERO JAILED
Dealer jailed after trying to transport £1,500 worth of drugs into Northwich
A MAN believed to have been transporting drugs into Northwich was jailed after police found him in possession of almost £1,500 worth of crack cocaine.
Andrew Shields was jailed for 28 months for possession with intent to supply class A drugs after appearing at Chester Crown Court on November 5.
Shields, of Camelot Way, Runcorn, was arrested on Wednesday, October 6 after officers on patrol in the Old Town stopped a red Kia Sportage on Main Road.
Man jailed for 'horrific' sexual abuse of eight year old boy in public toilets
A man who sexually assaulted a young boy in a toilet block in Knutsford was jailed in August.
Martin Mee pleaded guilty to two counts of gross indecency and three counts of indecently assaulting a boy under 14.
The 56-year-old, of Hatchmere Close, Timperley, was jailed for eight years for the offences during a hearing at Chester Crown Court on Monday, August 16.
He was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting the victim in any way.
Masked robbers jailed after stealing more than £14k in terrifying gunpoint bank heist
A PAIR of career criminals were jailed for a total of 33 years after stealing more than £14,000 in a terrifying gun-point bank robbery.
Jason Jenyons and Paul Broughton, both of Knutsford, carried out the robbery at the town’s NatWest branch on March 5 this year.
After threatening staff members at the King Street bank, the two men escaped on a motorcycle, zig-zagging through pedestrians in a nearby park.
Chester Crown Court also heard how the actions of a quick-thinking employee were ’instrumental’ in catching the pair.
And, after deeming them ‘a danger to the public’, Judge Steven Everett sentenced Jenyons to 18 years in prison and Broughton to 15 years.
Banned driver jailed after ‘leaving dad-of-two for dead' in head-on crash
A BANNED driver was jailed after ‘leaving a dad-of-two for dead’ following a devastating crash in Davenham.
Daniel Jennings Schollar, of Woodend Close in Middlewich, crashed into a horsebox and several cars on the A533 on July 2 this year, before fleeing the scene.
The 35-year-old, who was disqualified from driving at the time, admitted all five charges in relation to the crash and was sentenced to serve 28 months in prison.
'Predator' jailed after raping two women while they were unconscious
AN 'emotional manipulator' who showed 'not one jot of remorse' for raping two women was jailed for 17 years.
James Denis Hall, of Hill View Rise in Northwich, was sentenced on December 21, at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for raping two women while they were unconscious.
The 39-year-old's actions were described as 'predatory' as the judge handed him his sentence.
Killer jailed for 24 years after dad tortured to death in front of his own kids
TORTURE killer Christopher Guest More Jnr was jailed for life over the murder of Brian Waters.
The 43-year-old, from Lymm, was yesterday found guilty of murdering the dad-of-two in front of his own children during a brutal four-hour ordeal at Burnt House Farm in Tabley in 2003.
He returned to Chester Crown Court for sentence today, Friday, and received a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years.
Sentencing, Justice Peter Openshaw said: "Brian Waters was a loyal and devoted husband and father and his family will remember him as such."
Woman jailed after she admitted having cocaine-fuelled sex with a dog
A WOMAN was jailed after she admitted having cocaine-fuelled sex with a dog and possessing images of the 'disgusting' incident.
Claire Goodier, of Spencer Street in Northwich, was described as 'manipulative' and 'deceitful' by a probation officer.
Judge Steven Everett called her behaviour in taking part in the act with other adults as 'despicable' 'disgusting' and 'depraved' as he jailed her for 20 months.
The 60-year-old has twice been convicted of possessing indecent images of children, back in 2006 and 2009, with the judge admitting she had been 'astonishingly lucky' to avoid previous spells behind bars after receiving suspended sentences.
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