Karon Kelly

Paul Monks, 50, of Sunderland, was jailed for 18 months after admitting three offences of possessing indecent images of children and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Police found 582 images and videos on a Samsung tablet and a concealed SD card, including material involving children as young as approximately three months old; 387 images were Category A, 144 Category B and 51 Category C. The court heard that Monks had previously received a suspended sentence for similar offending and that he had used crystal methamphetamine and accessed the material while experiencing low mood. Judge Tim Gittins said each viewing constituted a fresh abuse of the child and ruled that the offences required immediate custody.

Andrew Holland was convicted of assaulting a woman and damaging her phone after breaching a court order banning contact with her. The 56-year-old, who has 145 previous convictions, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and given a five-year restraining order after two incidents involving physical and verbal abuse. The judge described him as a high risk to the public, particularly intimate partners, and said his planned residence with his wife after release would require close monitoring.

Irish GP Muhammed Iqbal, 64, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of sexually assaulting two women during medical examinations in Sunderland and Darlington. He had travelled from his practice in County Meath to conduct insurance medical assessments for car-accident claims, using the examinations as a cover for the assaults. The judge said the offences seriously breached the trust between doctors and patients. Iqbal was suspended by the General Medical Council, is expected to be struck off, and has been removed from his Irish practice.

Thomas Brand, a 52-year-old Sunderland man with 163 convictions, admitted robbing the William Jameson pub while wearing a balaclava. He threatened staff, smashed a Stella glass and removed an empty cash till before being arrested nearby. Newcastle Crown Court heard that workers feared for their lives. Brand, who had previous convictions for conspiracy to murder, manslaughter, robbery, burglary and arson, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison followed by a two-year extended licence period.

Ethan McCoy, 25, admitted causing grievous bodily harm after punching a man during a night out in Newcastle, leaving him with a brain bleed, multiple skull fractures and a perforated eardrum. The victim said the injuries ended his ability to pursue rock climbing, mountain biking and hiking, delayed his return to full-time work and made smiling painful. McCoy received an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years, 250 hours of unpaid work and an £1,800 compensation order. The court cited the lasting impact of the attack while also taking account of McCoy's remorse, insight and lack of previous offending.

International student Anderson Ishiekwene was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court to three years in prison after being convicted of meeting a child following sexual grooming and admitting attempted sexual communication. He had exchanged hundreds of pages of messages with a fake profile operated by Guardians of the North, believing he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl, and travelled to Washington to meet her. He must sign the sex offenders’ register and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and faces deportation after his sentence.

Sunderland business owner Scott Baines admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving after driving his Land Rover Discovery into a former employee during a confrontation while the victim was putting out bins. The victim suffered a head wound requiring ten stitches, along with bruising and abrasions, and described the incident as life-changing. Newcastle Crown Court heard that tensions between the men had persisted, but the judge noted that both could have withdrawn from the confrontation. Baines received a 14-month sentence suspended for 12 months, 160 hours of unpaid work, a two-year driving ban and an order to pay costs.

A Sunderland woman told Newcastle Crown Court that she was psychologically devastated after her former partner, Jackson Roberts, strangled her in two attacks in 2022. Roberts admitted two charges of intentional strangulation and had previously been sentenced for assault and criminal damage against the same victim. Despite his guilty pleas, remorse, abstinence from substances and efforts to change, Recorder Richard Stubbs sentenced him to 22 months in prison suspended for two years, with rehabilitation requirements, 200 hours of unpaid work and a five-year restraining order.