THROUGHOUT 2023, we have reported on some truly horrific and disturbing crimes.
From murder and other offences of violence to crimes of a sexual nature, decades of imprisonment have been handed down by judges.
Other crimes include causing death by dangerous driving and conspiracy to supply class A drugs.
Here are some of the longest sentences handed down to defendants we have reported on this year.
A MONSTROUS predator was locked up for a sickening sexual attack on a young woman as she screamed for help.
The victim, a woman in her late teens, was walking to her partner’s home at around 3am on Sunday, October 16, last year following a night out with friends.
Evil sex fiend Gyulhan Hyusein was repeatedly told ‘no’ by the victim, but he cruelly ignored her and assaulted her sexually a number of times.
He was put behind bars for 10 years through a sentence which has been welcomed by police who branded the defendant a sexual predator and praised the victim for her bravery.
A MERCILESS and manipulative bully was put behind bars for 18 years for repeatedly raping a young child.
Christopher McConnell was found guilty of four counts rape of a child following an eight-day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
It was found that the monster had raped the victim a number of times, threatening them and even placing a pillow over their face in the process to hide their tears.
He then cruelly denied the offences and made the victim and their family relive the horrific experience in court during his trial.
A DRUG-fuelled driver will ‘never be forgiven’ after killing a dad-to-be in a horrific crash in Warrington.
Chris Smith, 41, was tragically killed on the M6 Thelwall Viaduct after John Yates smashed into him while hitting speeds of around 128mph.
Mr Smith, who had dreamed of having his own family since the age of 17, had been travelling home from work to ‘cuddle his six-month pregnant wife and her belly’.
Yates fled the scene by jumping over a barrier immediately after the incident. He was jailed for eight years and three months, later increased to 11 years and three months.
A MONSTROUS pensioner who ‘systematically’ abused three young girls over three decades was told he may die in prison.
Donald Owen ‘took away the youth and innocence’ of his victims, who bravely came forward and revealed the horrific abuse they had been put through.
To this day, the 71-year-old despicably maintains his innocence, however the complainants were told they could take some comfort in the fact that he will remain behind bars for more than a decade.
He was locked up for 21 years for his twisted crimes.
A SICKENING predator was jailed for 14 years and eight months for raping a sleeping woman while her child slept in the next room.
News of Petrus-Ionut Apostoae’s crime rocked Warrington, with the rape occurring during a burglary of the victim’s home by Apostoae.
The victim had gone to sleep at 2am and 'woke up to hands over her face' from an unknown man, who went on to violently rape her twice.
He also returned to the same address, showing an intent to repeat the offence.
A MOTORIST who caused the death of another driver in a horror crash on the M62 was branded as ‘cowardly’ by a top judge.
Shaun Tinsley smashed into another car on the motorway in Warrington ‘like a missile’, with estimates stating that he was travelling at 113mph at the time.
The 28-year-old, who was disqualified at the time – despite never passing a driving test – had also binged on nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, beforehand.
The driver of the other car later died in hospital after suffering ‘extensive and severe’ injuries, with Tinsley jailed for nine years and four months.
JAMES Ireland was jailed for life after brutally murdering a man in his own home in Bewsey.
He was found guilty following a trial of stabbing Billy Moore to death during a vicious attack on Yardley Avenue just days before Christmas 2022.
Once at Mr Moore’s home, Ireland launched an ‘unprovoked and deadly attack’, stabbing the 31-year-old to the chest, face, and throat multiple times.
Ireland returned to Liverpool Crown Court for sentencing and received a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years.
A VILE sex predator who continuously raped and abused an 11-year-old boy from Warrington was jailed.
Daniel Sneddon began sexually assaulting his victim just days before his tenth birthday in 2021.
He would reward and groom his victim with presents, even purchasing him a bond touch bracelet to communicate with him when he was not there in person.
Sneddon was handed an extended sentence of 17.5 years.
LIFE-saving surgery was required after a woman was viciously attacked by her-then boyfriend.
A brutal punch to the abdomen by Alex Thompson left the victim with internal bleeding, as well as vertebrae fractures after repeated punches and kicks.
The 38-year-old thug – who has a history of attacking previous female partners – then proceeded to violently challenge police who were called to the scene to assist.
He was locked up for seven years, of which he will serve two-thirds before the parole board will decide whether to release him and on what terms.
A MONSTROUS abuser was jailed for nine years and one month after assaulting his girlfriends.
One incident saw Wayne O'Malley spit in a woman's face when her daughter was sat in the back of the car.
Another saw him tell his girlfriend that he was going on a trip with a friend, when in fact he was actually taking another woman on a holiday to Turkey.
He then attacked the other woman, stamping on her and leaving her in fear that he would kill her.
THE final member of a gang who supplied close to £2million in illegal drugs nationwide has been locked up.
Samuel Brough was one of three ring members of an operation moving illicit substances and huge cash amounts across the country.
The gang used a works van to prevent being stopped delivering drugs in the Covid lockdown.
He was imprisoned for 12 years – taking the total jail time for th gang up to more than 31 years.
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