The Teesside rapists, kidnappers and drug lords locked up in August

A drugged-up rapist who "tricked" his way into a pensioners' home before raping her and a student nurse who sexually assaulted a blind patient were just two of the criminals locked up in the region last month.

The criminals were jailed at Teesside Crown Court, where they received hefty prison sentences.

Three offenders from the same family were locked up after two teenage boys were kidnapped, beaten and then "abandoned" at an industrial estate.

And some cases saw the return of some criminals including "devious and manipulative" paedophile Jake Cresswell, 23.

Teesside Live reporters cover some of the most serious cases each week - and here is our round-up for August:

Read more:London man to face trial after deny raping and sexually attacking girl in Stockton

Scott Holding

A Thornaby man who pinned a woman down before he attempted to rape her is behind bars.

Scott Holding, 27, told her it was what his brain was telling him to do.

Teesside Crown Court heard how she fought back and managed to escape from his grasp.

Richard Bennett, prosecuting, told the court how Holding tried to force himself on the woman in 2017.

He said: "She kicked at him and bit him, managed to bite his neck and get him off her."

Mr Bennett said Holding pulled her back and pushed her back down, pulling her clothing off.

He said: "He forced both her hands down by her side while he sat on her legs."

The court in Middlesbrough heard how Holding attempted to commit a sex act on her while she struggled to break free.

However the woman managed to prevent him from doing so before shouting for help.

Mr Bennett said that Holding carried out a sex act on himself and DNA, which was found at the time, matched the victim's version of events.

Holding, of Lancaster Way, Thornaby, pleaded guilty to attempted rape and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Luke Andrew O'Neill

A motorcyclist left his teenage pillion passenger with a fractured skull and a bleed on the brain after smashing into a car.

Luke Andrew O'Neill was seen pulling wheelies on an orange KTM motorbike and dangerously riding on footpaths before running a red light and crashing into a Ford Mondeo.

The 27-year-old and the teenage boy he had as a passenger, were both thrown from the bike on May 7, last year, with both sustaining severe injuries.

The teen passenger was hospitalised for 22 days after sustaining a fractured skull and was placed in a week-long induced coma.

O'Neill, who had no insurance and was banned from driving at the time, also suffered serious injury and "smashed" his leg so badly, bone fragments were found at the crash scene.

O'Neill appeared at Teesside Crown Court to be sentenced for causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

The crash happened at the junction of Kings Roads and Longlands Road in Middlesbrough.

The court was told that at the time of the crash, O'Neill was travelling a maximum of 34mph, but shortly before the collision he hit speeds of up to 60mph.

O'Neill, of West Lane, Middlesbrough, was jailed for 27 months and banned from driving for four years and one month.

He will also have to take an extended test.

Brian Rumley

Brian Rumley's "life of criminality" and addiction has led him back behind bars for his recent spate of offending.

The 47-year-old stole a jacket from Boyes before going on to steal laptop and keys from a house.

He pleaded guilty to theft of a Regatta jacket from Boyes on April 22.

Rumley also admitted an attempted burglary and two burglaries on June 30 in Darlington.

In one of the incidents, homeowner was initially "unaware" he had been burgled until police officers contacted him after recovering his laptop and keys.

Teesside Crown Court heard the man assumed he had "misplaced" his front door keys until contacted by the force.

Rumley's second burglary took place during the early hours of the morning on Corporation Road in Darlington.

The Middlesbrough court heard how it was just after 2am when the defendant entered the property.

The homeowner had been in company with a friend and when they had left, the owner had gone to the hallway to retrieve the front door keys.

However, as he returned to the front door, the owner found Rumley "holding a collection of his coats".

Rumley was described as "more than a third strike burglar" during the hearing.

He was last handed a jail sentence in 2017 for a dwelling burglary.

Rumley, of Chandos Street, Darlington, was jailed for three years.

Andrew Rudd

A burglar who wandered into a home and tried to steal a Dyson vacuum cleaner before heading to another house and dishing out violent threats, was locked up.

Andrew Rudd had recently relapsed back into drug misuse when he committed the bizarre offences on July 2.

The 47-year-old first walked into an unlocked house on Suggitt Street in Hartlepool and tried to walk off with a vacuum cleaner.

But when the homeowner chased him off, he ventured over to nearby Duke Street, where he demanded to be let into another home, saying he would "kill" them if they didn't open the door.

A woman who was asleep inside at the time was left "frightened" by the incident.

Rudd appeared at Teesside Crown Court, via video link from HMP Durham, to be sentenced for burglary, assault and threatening violence to secure entry.

The homeowner, who was in the living room, had left the door unlocked as he was waiting for his son to return home.

But he was then "confronted" by Rudd standing with a "Dyson vacuum cleaner in his possession".

The homeowner demanded Rudd to leave, but was instead "pushed and shoved" against a wall.

Rudd was eventually kicked out of the home, but even tried to enter again and attempted to prevent the man from locking his own door.

The police were called and Rudd then headed over to Duke Street and to a home that belonged to a woman, who was asleep upstairs.

Rudd, who was "at the wrong address", was shouting "open the f****** door, I'll f****** kill you", the court heard.

The court was told Rudd, a third-strike burglar, had 59 previous convictions for 130 offences.

He was jailed for 876 days.

Kenneth McGuinness

A man who made terrifying death threats to his on-off partner before causing damage to her home and lashing out at the police is behind bars.

Kenneth McGuinness had been drinking and taking drugs when he went to the home of the woman he'd been in a violent relationship with for around three years.

The "aggressive" 55-year-old had turned up to pick up belongings, but he soon turned violent, leaving the woman and her teenage daughter terrified.

He appeared at Teesside Crown Court charged with affray, criminal damage, assaulting an emergency worker and threats to kill.

The court heard that McGuinness turned up to the home on the night of June 9.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said the woman and her teenage daughter saw a "drunk and aggressive" McGuinness outside.

McGuinness was demanding personal belongings, and he walked into the home, before being led out again by the woman, who said his items were in her car.

But McGuinness became "abusive", Ms Haigh said, and began asking 'where's my f****** money'.

"He continued to shout and scream at her", Ms Haigh said.

Frightened, the woman attempted to call the police, but McGuinness grabbed her phone and smashed it on the floor.

Due to the disturbance, neighbours wandered out of their homes, with McGuinness also hurling abuse at them.

He then began kicking the woman's car as she and her daughter locked him outside.

McGuinness then threw a bench at one of her doors, causing glass to smash, before causing damage to a garden wall.

Ms Haigh said McGuinness was shouting: 'I'm going to kill you' during the incident.

Police then arrived and arrested McGuinness, but he continued to hurl abuse at the officers and "lashed out" as they tried to handcuff him.

McGuinness, of Wembley Court, Stockton, was jailed for three years and three months.

He was also made subject of an indefinite restraining order.

Charles, Mark and Kane Daggett

Three members of the same family have been jailed after two teenage boys were kidnapped, beaten and then "abandoned" at an industrial estate.

Charles Daggett, 68, Mark Daggett, 39, and Kane Daggett, 19, went looking for youths they believed were responsible for causing damage to a home on November 4, last year.

And when the trio came across two of the boys they thought were connected, they bundled them into their car and made terrifying threats before ditching them miles away in Skelton.

Mark Daggett, of Hillingdon Road, Park End, and Kane Daggett, of Westerdale Road, Berwick Hills, appeared at Teesside Crown Court charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of assault.

Charles Daggett, of Lime Road, Normanby, was charged with two counts of kidnapping.

All three pleaded guilty to the charges at a previous hearing.

The court heard how the men are all members of the same family.

Charles Daggett is the father of Mark and the grandfather of Kane.

At around 6pm on November 4, last year, a group of youths were seen in the Teesville area.

Some members of the group were said to be "engaging in anti-social behaviour" and that damage was caused to property.

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks said there’s no evidence to suggest the two child victims were responsible for any of this damage.

As the Daggett's searched the streets for those they believed were responsible for the damage, they came across two teenage boys who were walking down a street in the Normanby area.

The car then “pulled up next to them” before Mark and Kane Daggett got out of the car and “punched and kicked” one of the teens, before hitting him to the body with a crow-bar.

He was then “bundled into the car”.

The other teen ran-off, but was found shortly after by the men, with Kane Daggett getting out and “chasing” him.

“He was grabbed by his jacket and walked back to the car where he was punched and then placed in the rear of the car with the other child”, Mr Perks said.

Mr Perks said they were “threatened” by the men, who told them they would “slit their throats and bury them in the Eston Hills” unless they gave the names of those responsible for the anti-social behaviour.

They were then driven to an industrial estate in Skelton, where they were "abandoned" by the men.

Mark and Kane Daggett were each jailed for three years and nine months.

Charles Daggett was jailed for three years and four months.

George Allen

A "wicked" conman who lived at a traveller site on Teesside and swindled two elderly men out of more than £100,000, is behind bars.

George Allen, from Metz Bridge travellers site in Middlesbrough, preyed on the victims in two North Yorkshire towns.

The 34-year-old targeted a 89-year-old man in Scarborough and a 69-year-old vulnerable man in Stokesley.

York Crown Court heard how he defrauded both men over roofing and other household repairs, charging hugely inflated prices for works which may not even have been needed at all.

Allen even drove one victim to the bank and waited outside while he withdrew the money he wanted.

The second victim from the Stokesley area was visited by Allen repeatedly between 2013 and 2018.

The court heard how Allen had "inveigled his way into the trust and affection of the victim" and, over a prolonged period of time, had charged him for works around his home.

Allen took more than £82,000 in cheques from the vulnerable man.

The victim also paid over £3,000 to builders’ merchants and other retailers for materials.

The expert surveyor examined the works undertaken on two occasions and concluded much of the work was unnecessary, poorly undertaken and the victim had been significantly overcharged.

The work undertaken by Allen was valued by the surveyor to be worth just £6,430.

Allen, who has a long history of offending, pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud.

He was jailed for three years and nine months.

Ansar and Ajmal Akram

Brothers Ansar and Ajmal Akram who were part of a gang which operated a 'drugs empire' selling huge quantities of cocaine to organised crime gangs on Teesside were jailed.

They used encrypted phones to organise exchanges of multiple kilos of cocaine up and down the country.

The pair, from Hertfordshire, sent drugs to parts of Middlesbrough and Yorkshire as well as Dorest, Leicester, Luton, Northampton and Buckinghamshire.

But after an extensive investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), over a six-month period in 2019, the drug lords were caught.

Specialist surveillance officers followed the group which was orchestrated by Ansar and Ajmal as his lieutenant, as they travelled up and down the country to sell the drugs.

The men often distributed substantial amounts of cocaine in one go, selling to other organised crime gangs in the area.

Using a network of couriers, meetings were arranged using covert encrypted devices intended to be hidden from the police.

Ansar Akram, 34, of Thumpers, Hemel Hempstead, was jailed for 15 years after pleading guilty to the supply of cocaine and possession of criminal property.

Ajmal Akram, 30, of Thumpers, Hemel Hempstead, was jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine and possession of criminal property.

Jake Cresswell

A "devious and manipulative" paedophile is back behind bars after deleting his internet history.

Jake Cresswell was hauled in front of a judge to be sentenced for deleting over 200 items from his internet history as well as other breaches.

The 23-year-old was banned from deleting his internet history after being locked up for two years in March 2018 for sending horrific child abuse images to fellow paedophiles online.

He was also given a sexual harm prevention order and was put on the sex offenders’ register, both for 10 years, for the offence.

But Cresswell, of The Hills, Skelton, breached his notification requirements between January and February, last year by deleting 258 items of internet history.

Teesside Crown Court heard that the pervert's offender manager also paid him a visit at home last March and asked if he had anything to disclose.

Cresswell, who appeared at the court charged with breaching a sexual harm prevention order, said he did not, but messages were found on his phone "indicating" he had been in an "internet relationship".

The phone was examined which showed his internet history had also been deleted, which included "porn of an illegal nature".

Cresswell, who appeared via link from HMP Durham, was jailed for 34 months.

He will remain on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

Ethan Burke

A teenage drug dealer who had a sawn-off shotgun under his bath was jailed.

Ecstasy tablets, ketamine, amphetamines and crack-cocaine were found in the home of Ethan Burke when officers raided the property on August 14, last year.

There was also evidence he had been "advertising" his products via text messages.

And months later, police went to another home where he was living, this time on Blackbush Walk in Thornaby, where a sawn-off shotgun was found under a bath, alongside a balaclava.

Burke, 19, appeared at Teesside Crown Court via link from HMP Durham to be sentenced for possession of drugs with intent to supply and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said police executed a warrant at Monmouth Road in Teesville in August last year.

Over 20g of crack-cocaine with a purity of up to 84% was discovered in a bedroom, which had a street value of around £200.

Burke was subsequently released on police bail, but on March 4, police went to Blackbush Avenue in Thornaby, where he was then living, and found a sawn-off shotgun underneath a bath.

Mr Newcombe said it was an unloaded 12-bore shotgun with cartridges also being found.

A balaclava and a glove were also found under the bath, with a samurai sword and a lock knife being found in another area of the property.

The court heard that none of Burke's finger prints were found on the weapon, and he pleaded guilty to possessing it on the basis that he knew it was under the bath, but that it was not his.

Recorder Simon Kealey QC jailed Burke for five years.

Andrew Parker

A man who blackmailed a woman out of hundreds of pounds after threatening to rape and assault her daughter was locked up.

Andrew Parker, 25, made continuous threats to harm the victim's children and her home in Hartlepool.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the mum-of-two feared for their safety and gave him cash to deter him.

However Parker demanded more money from her and damaged her front door when she couldn't provide it.

Jenny Hague, prosecuting, said Parker and the woman were previously in a relationship but had broken up due to his "alarming behaviour".

She told the court how the victim later bumped into him near her address and he said to her "I know where you live".

Ms Hague said that he threatened to rape and assault her daughter, who was 17 years old.

Parker, of Rydal Street, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to blackmail and criminal damage.

He was jailed for three years and four months.

Michael Benjamin Dodsworth

A thief who used his own faeces to deface a police cell after crashing his girlfriend's car into a lamp post was jailed.

Addict Michael Benjamin Dodsworth stole a £50,000 campervan before embarking on a crime spree less than one month later.

The 25-year-old got into a "scuffle" outside his girlfriend's home before crashing her Audi A3 into another car, then into a lamp post.

The Stockton man was later tracked down by police officers in a garden shed where he admitted the spate of offences.

Dodsworth previously pleaded guilty to burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance and criminal damage to a police van and cell.

The Middlesbrough court heard how while being transported to Darlington custody suite, in a caged vehicle, he urinated in the van.

Then whilst in the cell he used his own faeces to write on the walls and camera.

Dodsworth, of Buckingham Road was jailed for 20 months.

Christopher Bennison Callum Hunter and Adam Treloar

A trio of men who broke into a woman's home while she slept and stole a car before driving it to Whitby for some fish and chips are behind bars.

Christopher Bennison, 28, Callum Hunter, 23, and Adam Treloar, 21, took a Ford Focus from the victim's property in Saltburn.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the lone parent, who was in bed at the time, lived with her daughter who has special needs.

Victoria Lamballe, prosecuting, said the occupant came downstairs at 6am to find the keys to the Ford Focus had been taken from her property and the car was missing.

She told the court how a bike, which belonged to her daughter, had also disappeared from her address.

Ms Lamballe said the stolen car was seen in the Skelton area and police deployed a stinger, which led to the defendants to abandoning the vehicle.

Bennison admitted they had sold the bike for £70 before driving to Whitby for fish and chips.

The three defendants burgled The Spa Hotel in Saltburn while seven guests were staying at the property.

Bennison and Hunter also targeted a farm near the seaside town on the same night.

On May 20, while they were on bail for the previous offences, Hunter and Treloar broke into Middlesbrough College.

Bennison, of Outram Street, Newport, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, non-dwelling burglary, driving whilst disqualified and theft of a vehicle.

Hunter, of High Street, Brotton, admitted three offences of burglary, one count of non-dwelling burglary, theft of a vehicle, making off without payment and interfering with a vehicle.

Treloar, of Roscoe Street, central Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, non-dwelling burglary, theft of a vehicle and interfering with a vehicle.

Recorder Moran sentenced Bennison to 34 months behind bars and disqualified him from driving for 35 months.

He jailed Hunter for 21 months and Treloar for 20 months.

Karl Andrew Barnes

A Teesside criminal is back behind bars months after being released from prison.

Karl Andrew Barnes was jailed for more than four years after ruining a taxi driver's life by robbing him at knifepoint in 2014.

But the 31-year-old was brought back before a judge for burglary.

Barnes appeared at Durham Crown Court for sentencing.

The court heard how Barnes entered a house on High Street, Tow Law in County Durham.

He took a laptop, car keys, garage keys, a shoe horn, a pair of pliers and a tyre lever.

The Middlesbrough man admitted the burglary on May 3.

Barnes, of Marton Burn Road, Grove Hill, was jailed for two years.

He was also ordered to pay £156 victim surcharge.

David Whitfield

A prison officer who demanded sexual favours from female inmates in return for privileges was jailed.

David Whitfield took advantage of 12 women over a five year period at HMP Low Newton, in Durham, BBC reports.

The jail is the North East's only all women prison.

Following a three-week trial at Teesside Crown Court, the 36-year-old, of Colman Avenue in South Shields, was found guilty of misconduct in a public office.

Whitfield was cleared of a charge of sexual assault on a prisoner.

Recorder David Gordon sentenced him to six years and nine months in jail.

Lee Hodgson

An "immature" man who raped a teenager as she slept in her own bed.

Lee Hodgson left the girl having "nightmares" after he undressed her and carried out the sexual assault.

Hodgson was welcomed into the family home after the pair had been messaging on Facebook for around five months - but was told to sleep on the sofa.

The man, from Blyth, initially denied the rape of a woman over 16 but pleaded guilty to the charge on the day of trial.

The 20-year-old appeared in the dock at Teesside Crown Court for sentencing.

Christine Edgerton, prosecuting, told how Hodgson was 18-years-old at the time of the offence and the victim was living with her family on Teesside.

The court heard how in 2019, the pair became friends on Facebook and were messaging each other for around five months.

On the day the schoolgirl received her GCSE results, Hodgson came to stay at the girl's home and planned to reside there for a few days.

Ms Edgerton outlined that the arrangements were that the defendant would "sleep on the sofa" and on the night of the offence in 2019, the victim went to bed in her bedroom.

She went to sleep wearing shorts, a long sleeved top and a bra.

However, when she awoke, the teenager was only wearing her pyjama shorts and bra - with her top on her drawers.

The court heard how when she went to collect her top she stood on Hodgson who was "lying apparently asleep beside her bed".

Ms Edgerton said he "looked at her and shook his head" and then became "fidgety" and "wasn't making eye contact".

Hodgson then told the teenager he had taken her top off because she "looked sweaty".

"I had sex with you," he told her.

"It's not ok because it's rape."

The following day, the victim told her mother to "make the defendant leave" and as he was "picked up by a relative" she told her what had happened.

The teenager's mother contacted Cleveland Police and Hodgson was arrested.

Recorder Alex Menary jailed Hodgson for five years and one month.

He is also subject to notification requirements for life and granted a restraining order against the victim.

Keith Anderson

A rapist was put behind bars for life after a “horrific” sexual assault on a pensioner.

Drugged-up Keith Anderson “tricked” his way into the elderly woman’s home before launching the “degrading” attack.

The 35-year-old told his victim that he was “frightened” to stay alone before he raped her in her own bed.

The “dangerous offender” threatened to “snap her neck” and “stab her” during the early-morning attack on March 17.

He also asked her if they could make it a “weekly thing”, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The Darlington man previously pleaded guilty to rape.

Recorder Hassell said he didn’t have the “slightest hesitation” that Anderson, of The Broadway South, Darlington, “posed significant risk to the public”.

He imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of eight years.

John Collins

A student nurse who sexually assaulted a blind patient at Teesside's largest hospital after he was admitted for treatment has been jailed.

John Collins claimed he had "drug-induced amnesia" after carrying out the "well planned" sex attack for his "own sexual gratification".

The 48-year-old offered to give the man a "bed bath" after giving a false name and stating there would only be female nurses on throughout the day.

Collins was completing his second year of training at James Cook University Hospital when he carried out the attack.

He was subsequently "removed from all duties" following the incident, the trust confirmed.

The Redcar man appeared at Teesside Crown Court, via videolink from Teesside Magistrates' Court in a wheelchair, for sentencing.

Prosecutor Richard Bennett told how Collins was set to stand trial in June but pleaded guilty on the day of trial.

The Middlesbrough court heard how Collins told the man "I'm a nurse" and identified himself as 'Dave' or 'David'.

As Collins left the cubicle to get supplies, a female nurse asked: "Where are you going with that?" and reminded him that student nurses were not permitted to carry out bed baths.

However, Collins returned telling the victim to "lay back and relax" taking his shorts down and "washing him".

He then wet his "private parts" carrying out the "prolonged touching".

Collins urged the victim not to be "embarrassed" and after the "touching finished", he placed a towel on his chest area, telling him to "wash his face and everything else himself".

The victim was left feeling "numb and embarrassed" and now doesn't like to leave his home as he "doesn't know what the man [Collins] looks like".

Collins, of Laburnum Road, Redcar, was jailed for two years and six months.

For crime news in your area direct to your inbox every day,go hereto sign up to our free newsletter