Berkshire criminals jailed or let go in June 2022

These are just some of the people locked up or let go at Reading Crown Court in June 2022.

Here are their names and their reasons for being hauled before a judge.

Dean Welsh

A terrified woman tried to climb out of her window to escape her boyfriend after he locked her in their bedroom.

The woman eventually escaped Dean Welsh, of Vansittart Road, Windsor, after he fell asleep.

On June 9, the 28-year-old was spared prison after a court heard of his progress in rehabilitating himself.

The false imprisonment incident occurred in 2020 after Welsh and his partner had returned home from an evening out.

But “it all went wrong”, Her Honour Judge Real said, when Welsh started questioning his partner about content on her phone.

“You didn’t trust her”, the judge said, “that was your problem and that manifested itself on this occasion when you prevented her from leaving the room.

“She tried to climb out of the window and you pulled her back.”

“It would have been very scary for her.”

Judge Real handed down an 18-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

Anonymous Reading man

A Reading man has been locked up after being found guilty of sexual activity with his daughter.

The 42-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will spend a number of years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of a series of sexual offences last month.

He was found guilty of touching his daughter’s breasts and groin area, thrusting against her, pulling her clothing down to view her genitals and asking her to masturbate when she was aged between 14-15.

The North Reading man was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a child family member and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The 42-year-old was sentenced to five years and six months in prison. He will serve half of this before being eligible for release.

David Niedzwiecki

An incensed driver brandished a gun at a fellow motorist in a ‘terrifying’ road rage incident that could have had ‘potentially catastrophic consequences.’

David Niedzwiecki, of Argyle Close, Ealing, was last month jailed for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence after a confrontation with a driver on the M40 on July 13, 2020.

The 29-year-old was heading eastbound when the lanes merged from three to two and the defendant’s car almost clashed with that of a Mr Garry Tooey.

Niedzwiecki pulled up next to the driver whilst they were both moving and pulled out a black revolver gun and pointed it at the car’s rear wheel.

Prosecutor Charles Ward-Jackson said: “That caused the driver some alarm as he thought he was about to shoot his tyres.”

Niedzwiecki was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Reading Crown Court on Friday, June 10.

Michael Toolsey

A Slough man has been jailed after his stalking of his ex-girlfriend led to him assaulting two police officers.

Michael Toolsey, of no fixed abode, punched one officer so hard they said it was the first time the policeman had been assaulted with such force, Reading Crown Court heard.

The 26-year-old split up with his girlfriend in late 2021 after failing to help with household upkeep.

Following this, he embarked on a period of stalking. This included:

• Driving up and down her road
• Sending her dozens of messages on Instagram and Facebook
• Leaving a note on her car which read ‘start listening’
• Parking in an Esso garage so he could look directly into her house
• Visiting her place of work while she was at work

Her Honour Judge Campbell handed Toolsey a 16 month prison sentence at Reading Crown Court on Friday, June 10.

Jacob Trussler

A murderer has been sentenced to life in prison after stabbing a 77-year-old man multiple times.

Jacob Trussler, aged 37, of no fixed abode, murdered David Allen in his Elgar Road home on December 1 last year.

On June 13, Trussler was jailed for a minimum of 20 years at Reading Crown Court.

His sentencing comes after a jury found Trussler guilty by unanimous verdict at the same court on May 27.

Trussler had denied murder, claiming he stabbed Mr Allen in self-defence after the 77-year-old allegedly confronted him with a knife.

Giving evidence at the trial, Trussler confessed to being a drug addict as he had taken cocaine and heroin for more than ten years.

He said: “I would never hurt him. I’m no angel, I’ve got a drug addiction, I accept responsibility for his death but I’m not a murderer and I don’t go round killing people in cold blood.

“I’ve got to live with all this, I’ve destroyed my family, I’ve destroyed everything, but I’m not a murderer.”

But the jury rejected this account after hearing how Mr Allen suffered three stab wounds, one which fatally cut Mr Allen 20cm deep according to the prosecutor.

Abid Khan

A Reading man has been jailed for several years following a "campaign of harassment" against a teenage girl from Bracknell.

Abid Khan, 22, sent abusive messages, threatened, and assaulted his victim, Marnie Clayton, over a period of seven months.

The offender, of Cardigan Gardens, was jailed for three years and four months at Reading Crown Court today (Friday) after he pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment.

He was also issued with a 10-year restraining order against his victim.

Between July 2021 and February 2022, Khan undertook a campaign of harassment against the teenage girl.

He threatened her, sent her abusive messages, went to her home and workplace and even assaulted her during his months of abuse.

The offender was arrested and charged on January 17 after he and the girl went missing a day earlier.

Khan was charged in connection with the vanishing of the 18-year-old Bracknell girl from Atik nightclub on Sunday, January 16.

A ‘manhunt’ was launched in search of Marnie Clayton and Khan following the former’s disappearance from the popular nightclub at 2am.

The pair were found in Basingstoke in the evening of January 17.

Martin Weller

A Wokingham carer stole a cheque from a 79-year-old dementia patient and used it to pay for services from a sex worker.

Martin Weller, of Hampshire Close, worked as a carer between October 2019 and February 2021 and during this time he stole and cashed blank cheques from three vulnerable adults.

The 49-year-old was last month locked up after a judge slammed him for his ‘gross abuse of trust’ against ‘possibly the most vulnerable in society.’

Richard Moss, defending, said Weller was £8,500 in debt and used these cheques to pay off bills.

He said Weller “wasn’t in his right mind” when he paid for the services of a sex worker using the stolen cheques.

His Honour Judge Hassan Khan, sentencing, said: “This was a gross abuse of trust which took place over a year against possibly the most vulnerable in society.”

Weller was handed a 15-month prison sentence for four counts of fraud and one count of theft.

He was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, June 21.

Stephen Banham

A Thatcham man has been jailed at Reading Crown Court after a hit and run incident left victims with minor injuries.

Stephen Banham, 47, of Manor Lane, Oare Hermitage was found guilty for multiple offences between April 2018 and September 2019.

On April 7 2018, the offender drove his vehicle at the two victims and drove off after a verbal altercation on Faraday Road.

Other offences that were also included in the charge, include an altercation in Avon Way, Newbury on January 30 2019. On September 21 Banham also shouted abuse at a woman involved in that altercation before driving off.

Taking into consideration one count each of affray, witness intimidation and dangerous driving and two counts of GBH he was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.

Investigating officers, Detective Constable Nicholas Wilkinson and PC Nigel Woodall, both based at Newbury police station, said: “These convictions follow a lengthy investigation into a number of offences committed by Banham.

“This shows that Thames Valley Police will not tolerate acts of unprovoked violence in a public place and offenders will be made accountable for their actions. It was pure luck that the two victims who were run over suffered only minor injuries”.

“I hope the sentence invoked by the judge will give the victims the closure that they deserve, and this sentence reflects the seriousness of what has happened”.

Garyse Gumbs

A pervert has been locked up after pretending to be a woman and forcing a 16-year-old boy to send him intimate pictures.

Garyse Gumbs, of Weylan Street, Reading, was jailed after also being convicted of making indecent images of young boys.

The 29-year-old lorry driver’s offences date back to 2017 when Gumbs set up a messaging profile under the name of ‘Monique.’

He engaged in a sexualised conversation with a 16-year-old boy who thought Monique was a real woman.

During this time, Gumbs pressured the boy to send intimate images and videos of himself, to which he obliged.

When the victim realised ‘Monique’ was not real, Gumbs was reported to police.

HHJ Burgess handed down a 15-month prison sentence after making note of Gumbs’s ‘deception’ of the 16-year-old boy.

He was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Thursday, June 23.

Sonrak Hawkins

A Wokingham gardener has been spared prison after downloading indecent images featuring children as young as two-years-old.

Sonrak Hawkins, of Finchampstead Road, was instead handed a community order and told to take part in rehabilitation sessions to help him work out his behaviour.

The 25-year-old was confronted by police at his home in March 2020 when officers seized an iPhone, iPad and hard drive.

On these devices, they found 30 category A indecent images (the most explicit kind), 54 category B indecent images, and 43 category C indecent images.

One included a video of a four-year-old child being violently sexually abused, Reading Crown Court heard.

Hawkins was handed a 36-month community order and told to take part in 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

David Wolfe

A school caretaker said he should be hung after he admitted to arranging sexual acts with a child.

David Wolfe, of Elm Drive, Winkfield, was locked up after also admitting to sending a picture of his genitalia to a 13-year-old girl.

The 63-year-old was arrested after he tried to meet up with the child - who was really an undercover police officer - having brought condoms with him to a park in Windsor in the summer of 2020.

“He comes before the court as a broken man. He says he has destroyed everything”, defence barrister Mark Kinsey told Reading Crown Court.

“He was living a fantasy world online and he said the best thing that happened was the police coming and taking away his devices.

“In his view, he should be hung. He says he is disgusted with himself and he is extremely ashamed of what happened.

“This is a man who got caught up in some form of escapism and whose inquisitive mode took hold.”

Wolfe, who worked as a handyman and a caretaker for Forest Bridge School in Maidenhead, arranged to meet the girl for sex after telling her he was 53 on a fake profile online.

The girl -- who was really an undercover police officer -- and Wolfe moved the conversation to WhatsApp where he sent her sexualised messages and asked her for intimate images.

They arranged to meet at a park in Windsor when officers ambushed Wolfe. They discovered he had brought condoms with him to the meeting.

Upon seizing his phone, 37 indecent images (ranging from the most severe images to less severe images) were discovered, alongside 50 images of extreme porn involving a horse.

Other sexualised conversations with young children were also found on Wolfe’s phone, Reading Crown Court heard.

Wolfe was handed a 44-month prison sentence, of which he will serve half in jail before being eligible for release.

The 63-year-old did not react as he learned of his fate at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, June 28.

Ian De Melvin

‘To think that someone could have done this to my young daughter is terrifying.’

Those were the words of a convicted paedophile who was jailed for trying to meet up with two teenage girls.

Ian De Melvin appeared before a judge earlier this week after he was caught arranging to meet up with the girls who were in fact undercover police.

Prosecuting, Jonathan Sank, said: "These two offences that the defendant stands to be sentenced for took place in October 2020 and June 2021. The first offence relates to who the defendant believed to be a 13-year-old girl and the second to be for a 14-year-old girl.

Sentencing in Reading Crown Court, Judge Kirsty Real said: "You were contemplating penetrative sexual activity with a 13-year-old, and you got cold feet on both occasions. The offences are so serious only immediate custody is appropriate."

De Melvin was sentenced to a combined total of six months' imprisonment. He will have to serve half of this sentence before he is eligible for parole. He was also made subject to a seven-year-long sexual harm prevention order.

The 52-year-old appeared at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, June 28.

Tyler Hobden

A footballer has been spared jail after hitting a rival player in the head after a feisty match.

Tyler Hobden, of Perrycroft, Windsor was playing a Sunday league game in April 2019 when he exchanged taunts with the captain of the opposition.

In the second half, he took over as a linesman but at the end of the game, he confronted the rival player.

Reading Crown Court heard how Hobden punched the footballer in the side of the head after a comment was made about his mother.

The captain suffered two fractures to his jawbone, as well as bleeding and swelling to his face.

He was taken to hospital where a metal plate was inserted into his head.

The judge spared Hobson jail time and handed him a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.

He will have to undertake 19 days of the Thinking Skills programme, 15 days of rehabilitation activities, and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Hobson will also have to pay £1,000 to his victim, £800 in prosecution costs and £200 for breaching his suspended sentence order.

The defendant was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Wednesday, June 29.