Josh Bolton

Five motorists from Bexley and Bromley were disqualified from driving after being convicted of alcohol- or drug-driving offences. Amos Mauwa received an 18-month ban, Kim Taylor and Rouel Edmund-Willis were banned for three years, Moyo Osifodunrin received a 21-month ban, and Terry Sheanon was disqualified for 12 months and given a community order with rehabilitation activities. Each was also ordered to pay fines and costs.

Tihomir Dimov, 44, of New Cross, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. The court heard that he created thousands of category A, B and C images, including still and moving images. He received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, along with rehabilitation requirements, a five-year sexual harm prevention order, internet and contact restrictions, a £85 costs order, a £187 victim surcharge and a requirement to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Former Bexleyheath Academy maths teacher Monday Ilenotuma, who was banned from teaching in 2023 for inappropriate contact with former pupils, has applied to have the prohibition order lifted. A regulatory panel found that he sent nearly 400 messages to one former pupil, made inappropriate comments about her appearance and personal life, discussed drugs, and invited her to his home. He also exchanged inappropriate messages with another former pupil. Although Ilenotuma acknowledged that his conduct was wrong and expressed some remorse, the panel previously found that he did not fully understand why the timing, frequency and content of his communications were inappropriate. The Teaching Regulation Agency is considering whether he can return to the profession.

Michael Frank-Umoh pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving after crashing his Vauxhall Corsa at the Belvedere Horse Roundabout at about 96 mph on New Year’s Day 2025. He had been drinking and recorded 66 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, above the legal limit, while his former partner was in the passenger seat. She suffered serious injuries, including a broken vertebra. Woolwich Crown Court suspended a 21-month prison sentence because the judge considered him unlikely to reoffend. He must complete 150 hours of unpaid work, observe a three-month curfew, and is disqualified from driving for two years subject to an extended retest.

Alexander Emmerich and Stephen Hand were convicted of supplying cocaine after police found messages showing that Emmerich directed Hand and Hannah Sims to distribute the drug. Hand had reportedly accumulated a cocaine-related debt to Emmerich after taking drugs he was supposed to sell. The pair had already received lengthy prison sentences for using a handgun to rob a shop twice and carrying out a third robbery at a vape shop. Hand received an additional one-year sentence and Emmerich two years and three months, to run consecutively.

A Metropolitan Police misconduct panel found that former Bexleyheath constable David Wager abused his position by pursuing a sexual and emotional relationship with a woman he encountered while responding to a mental health crisis. Ms A alleged that Wager sexually assaulted her at Darent Valley Hospital, later visited her home in uniform, contacted her on Facebook and had sex with her. The panel found her account detailed and credible and described Wager’s conduct as predatory. The Crown Prosecution Service declined to charge him in September 2024, and although he resigned in March 2025, the panel ruled he would have been dismissed without notice and placed him on the policing barred list.

A woman’s body was found near railway tracks at Coppermill Junction by Walthamstow Reservoirs on March 18, 2025. An inquest led by East London Senior Coroner Graeme Irvine heard that DNA, fingerprints and dental analysis had failed to identify her. Authorities described her as a white woman possibly in her mid-50s, with dark straight hair, wearing layered jackets and black jogging bottoms, and a white-metal ring featuring a possible dolphin motif. The East London Coroner’s Court and Metropolitan Police are appealing to the public for information.

Jonas Amogbokpa was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of raping and sexually assaulting an extremely intoxicated student after luring her into his car in Deptford, and of kidnapping her. He recorded part of the assault, later followed the victim and attempted to entice her into his flat. After being released on bail, Amogbokpa stopped attending his trial and hid for four months in a Christian retreat before surrendering. He received a 14-year prison sentence, an additional four-year extended licence because he was deemed dangerous to women, and a further month for failing to surrender to bail. Metropolitan Police said other women may have been targeted and urged them to report concerns.

Former piano teacher David Eccott, who worked with the Bromley Youth Music Trust and in Bromley schools, was convicted in 2022 of making and distributing indecent images of children. He received a community order and a five-year placement on the sex offenders register. The Teaching Regulation Agency has now banned him from teaching in schools indefinitely, citing pupil safeguarding and public protection, despite his claim that he lacked sufficient legal advice when pleading guilty. The case also highlights a UK safeguarding loophole whereby private tutors are not generally required to hold teaching qualifications or DBS checks.

Former civil servant Brian James, 81, died of natural causes at hospital after being charged with murdering his wife, Carol, at their Bexleyheath home. He was alleged to have strangled her after trying to stop her from leaving for a hair appointment, amid claims that he believed both were infected with hookworm. A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigation found that his prison care was generally equivalent to community care, but that staff had not comprehensively assessed or managed his acute abdominal pain and should receive additional training. The coroner said his death was not unexpected because his general health had significantly deteriorated.

A jury was discharged during the murder trial of Earl Junior Strachan, who is accused of stabbing Sanchini Thompson to death in Catford after an alleged robbery involving cash and an e-scooter. A retrial has been scheduled at Woolwich Crown Court for March 1, 2027, with an estimated duration of two weeks.

An 84-year-old Welling resident had her gold bracelet and necklace stolen by three women in a distraction theft after they asked her for directions from a car. The thieves replaced her jewellery with imitation pieces before fleeing. The victim expressed distress over losing items of sentimental value and urged others to be cautious. Police have been contacted for comment.

Brian Jones of Downham admitted harassment and making false 999 calls in which he repeatedly reported a non‑existent fire at a nearby property, prompting multiple London Fire Brigade responses. The incidents occurred four times between March and October of the previous year. Appearing at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, he was released on bail with conditions preventing contact with two individuals and restricting 999 calls to genuine emergencies ahead of sentencing in August.

A 26-year-old man from Eltham, Abdul Jagun, has been charged with three counts of common assault and being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog that injured two people at Smart Tech on Eltham High Street in January of the previous year. He appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, where the case was sent to Willesden Magistrates’ Court, London’s designated dog court, and he was released on bail.

A jury at Woolwich Crown Court found martial arts teacher Tony Swanson guilty of 15 child sex offences, including multiple rapes committed against a girl aged 13 to 15 in the early 2000s. Swanson, founder of the Taoist Arts Organisation in Sidcup, was convicted after evidence from the victim and her mother, who had already pleaded guilty to related offences. Prosecutors detailed repeated abuse, sometimes committed in the mother’s presence. The victim reported the crimes to police in 2022 after years of struggling with the trauma. Swanson, who denied all allegations, was released on bail pending sentencing in August.

Mitchell Mills of Erith was sentenced to ten weeks in prison after pleading guilty to sending a text threatening to stab a woman. The offence occurred in Bromley on June 28 and was deemed serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence, reduced from 15 weeks due to an early guilty plea. Magistrates cited the domestic violence context and the fact that the threat occurred while Mills was on licence. He was also given a restraining order and had been previously remanded due to concerns he posed an ongoing risk to the victim.

A coroner found that failures by the Metropolitan Police to recognise signs of domestic abuse by former officer Warren Arter may have left his wife, Rebekah Arter, unprotected before her death in Barbados. The inquest revealed missed warnings, unacted allegations due to IT errors, and a longstanding pattern of misconduct by Mr Arter that was not assessed for risk to his wife. The IOPC and Met both faced scrutiny over safeguarding and investigative shortcomings, while government officials outlined planned reforms to policing standards and protections for women. The inquest returned an open conclusion, with unlawful killing not ruled out and intoxication considered a possible factor.

Tony Paul Rose was sentenced to a suspended 14‑week prison term after investigators found he falsely claimed nearly £9,000 in disability benefits despite being filmed walking unaided and riding a motorbike. Surveillance by the Department for Work and Pensions followed an anonymous tip‑off about undeclared work and doubtful disability. Rose, who had longstanding spinal issues, admitted failing to report improvement in his condition. The court ordered him to repay £1,000 and warned that he would face a Loss of Benefit Penalty if he seeks future support, while the government signaled continued efforts to recover fraudulently obtained funds.

Prosecutors told a Woolwich Crown Court jury that Earl Junior Strachan fatally stabbed Sanchini Thompson in Catford after being robbed and humiliated by Thompson and others. CCTV footage is said to show Strachan retrieving a knife from his mother’s home before returning to target Thompson with multiple stab wounds, one of which pierced his heart. Strachan fled London and was arrested in Scotland. He has admitted manslaughter and knife possession but denies murder, arguing he lacked intent to cause serious harm. The trial continues.

A 15-year-old girl was approached and sexually propositioned on Lewisham High Street by Marian Toader and an unidentified accomplice, who then assaulted her before she escaped. Toader was arrested after being recognised by the victim’s family and later pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He received a sentence of four years and three months, with the judge noting the pair acted together. The victim continues to struggle with trauma, and Toader is likely to be deported after serving his sentence.