8:00AM GMT 26 Mar 20
The Telegraph [Britain]
Delroy Grant, 53, “terrified a whole community” for 17 years by committing hundreds of offences against pensioners including rape, sexual assault and burglary. Grant singled out his victims by looking for signs they were elderly and lived alone.
Dressed in black, wearing a mask or balaclava, with gloves on his hands, he would remove entire window panes, cut telephone lines and remove light bulbs before robbing and molesting his victims in the middle of the night. Yesterday, one of his victims, known only as Miss J for legal reasons, took the witness stand and faced her attacker.
At 5ft 1ins tall, with pure white hair and wire-rimmed spectacles, dressed in a white top and blue jacket, the 85-year-old stood as her police statement was read to the court.
"It is something that I shall never forget completely. It still feels so recent. I feel a huge amount of resentment and wonder how the suspect chose me. I often think to myself 'Why me?' or 'Why any of the other victims?'. I also feel a sense of indignation and anger as I feel that I had done everything reasonable to avoid this sort of thing happening. I have found that time is not a great healer. I don't think that it has got any easier over the last year. I certainly haven't got back my peace of mind."
She then added in person that she failed to understand why Grant had struck, before thanking the judge for the opportunity to speak.
The police operation to find Grant cost an estimated £7million and was the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London. However, they had missed an opportunity to arrest him in 1999, which allowed him to strike again over 100 times more.
He was yesterday jailed for life, with a minimum of 27 years before he could be considered for parole.
Judge Peter Rook, sentencing, told Grant he remained a “very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm” and warned him he was likely to die in jail.
The judge said: “You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining precious years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge where they could have expected to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds.”
He also placed Grant on the sex offenders' register for life.
Grant's defence counsel, Courtenay Griffiths QC, admitted that he could offer no mitigation for his client other than to point out that his age meant he would probably spend the rest of his life in jail.
Mr Griffiths added: "These offences were indeed perverse and disgusting and they were also uniquely revolting."
Before the former minicab driver left Woolwich Crown Court, in south London, the judge made these remarks. "Delroy Grant. Your utter depravity knows no bounds. The 18 victims of your offending were all elderly. In respect of nine of them, not only did you break into their homes in the middle of the night, that invasion being a highly traumatic experience for them in itself, but you then proceeded to subject them to humiliating and degrading sexual attacks.
Your offending spanned a period of 17 years. Five south London boroughs were affected by your offending. Over 17 years you have terrified a whole community. As your counsel accepted, thousands of people in south London have been living in fear that they might be your next victim.
It also led to an enormous drain on police resources as the years went by and you evaded arrest. Your offending led to the largest hunt for a serial rapist ever conducted in London.
This series of offences have multiple aggravating features. Your offending falls in a category of its own, way above anything envisaged in the definitive sentencing guidelines.
You targeted elderly victims living alone. Your actions blighted the remaining years of their lives. Their homes, where many of them had lived for years, should have been their safest refuge, where they could expect to live their lives undisturbed and at peace. You chose to invade their homes when they were in bed at night.
It is hard to imagine the extreme fear that the feel of your gloved hand and the sight of your masked figure looming above them must have been felt by your victims in their beds. Those who you raped or attempted to rape were all over 80. Many of your victims were in poor health.
Since in every case but one, your elderly victims lived on their own, I can only conclude that these offences were well-planned and you targeted victims. Singling out your victims must have involved considerable planning, as you chose the most vulnerable of people.
In the middle of the night, you would wake your victims who would be sleeping in their own beds by placing a gloved hand over their mouths to stop them screaming. You would shine your torch into their terrified eyes. You would search their homes and steal their money. I am not going to catalogue in detail the trail of distress, fear and misery you have left behind you.
There can be only one sentence and that is life imprisonment. I have no doubt that these offences are of such seriousness that a life sentence is appropriate to reflect the public abhorrence at your offending. You are a very dangerous man capable of committing heinous crimes and causing incalculable harm to people. It will be a matter for the Parole Board whether you ever be released. It may be that you will never be released.
Your offending is in a league of its own. I must look at the totality of your offending. I bear in mind that you are now 53. If this was a determinate sentence, a total sentence of 54 years would be appropriate. This means the minimum term will be one of 27 years, less the time you have spent in custody. I am told that is one year and 129 days. That makes the total minimum sentence 25 years, 236 days. I stress that is the minimum term you must serve.
It will follow automatically that you will be placed on the Sexual Offences Register for life.
Showing posts with label 80's victim. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 80's victim. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, December 19, 2009
64 year old woman gets 6 years for "boyfriend's" manslaughter
A 64 year old Salinas, CA woman was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday for smothering her "boyfriend" to death. 66 year old Lynne Nicole Feurer pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter after being originally charged with murder. Her victim was Joseph Francis Cupita, 81, who she had met in a Chicago ballroom in the early 2000s. The couple moved to California in 2004. The presiding judge was California Superior Court Judge Larry Hayes.
On May 28, 2007, police found Cupita's body lodged between his bed and the wall in the couple's Pacific Grove apartment after an intoxicated and tearful Feurer told a newlywed at the London Bridge Pub that she'd just killed her husband.
Forensic pathologist John Hain concluded the frail man was suffocated, likely with a pillow by someone kneeling on his chest. Defensive wounds indicated he fought for his life, and Hain estimated it took minutes for him to die.
Feurer told police she and Cupita were fighting over his refusal to go to his dialysis appointment. She remembered struggling with him, but few details. Prosecutor Elaine McCleaf said the claim was disingenuous, because Feurer had the presence of mind to gather up her medications and passport before she fled.
Defense attorney Bryan Keller had planned to argue at trial that Feurer was a battered woman who acted in self-defense. He said he settled the case only when McCleaf offered manslaughter rather than a life-term murder.
But McCleaf said Feurer's alcoholism poses a danger to society. She cited three previous drunken-driving convictions and an alcohol-related theft conviction.
She argued that Cupita's vulnerability, the "gruesome" manner of his death and Feurer's callousness were all factors that aggravated her crime to the level of a maximum 11-year sentence.
Keller maintained those aggravating circumstances were balanced or overweighed by the mitigating circumstances that Feurer was a battered woman who acted in self-defense. He called for the lower term of three years.
The prosecutor said she made the offer in light of Feurer's positive contributions, community support and alcoholism.
The killer's son, Alex Feurer, said that "I remember Joe and I miss him a lot," he said. "He did many good things for my family, for my mom and me." "It [His mother's alcohol and prescription drug addictions]unfortunately cost Joe his life. But she's finally here. She's a whole person. She's not the same and she has a lot to offer."
Others who spoke at the sentencing included Reiko Hidaka Scott, cupita's ex-girlfriend, who said that "He was just such a nice, sweet, personable person. He really lived his life through his music and making people happy."
In the end, Haye rejected the battered woman defense put forth by Keller, but weighed that against Feuer's contributions and his own experiences caring for a Alzheimer's patient. Since manslaughter is a violent crime, Feurer must serve 85% of her sentence. She was credited with almost three years behind bars.
On May 28, 2007, police found Cupita's body lodged between his bed and the wall in the couple's Pacific Grove apartment after an intoxicated and tearful Feurer told a newlywed at the London Bridge Pub that she'd just killed her husband.
Forensic pathologist John Hain concluded the frail man was suffocated, likely with a pillow by someone kneeling on his chest. Defensive wounds indicated he fought for his life, and Hain estimated it took minutes for him to die.
Feurer told police she and Cupita were fighting over his refusal to go to his dialysis appointment. She remembered struggling with him, but few details. Prosecutor Elaine McCleaf said the claim was disingenuous, because Feurer had the presence of mind to gather up her medications and passport before she fled.
Defense attorney Bryan Keller had planned to argue at trial that Feurer was a battered woman who acted in self-defense. He said he settled the case only when McCleaf offered manslaughter rather than a life-term murder.
But McCleaf said Feurer's alcoholism poses a danger to society. She cited three previous drunken-driving convictions and an alcohol-related theft conviction.
She argued that Cupita's vulnerability, the "gruesome" manner of his death and Feurer's callousness were all factors that aggravated her crime to the level of a maximum 11-year sentence.
Keller maintained those aggravating circumstances were balanced or overweighed by the mitigating circumstances that Feurer was a battered woman who acted in self-defense. He called for the lower term of three years.
The prosecutor said she made the offer in light of Feurer's positive contributions, community support and alcoholism.
The killer's son, Alex Feurer, said that "I remember Joe and I miss him a lot," he said. "He did many good things for my family, for my mom and me." "It [His mother's alcohol and prescription drug addictions]unfortunately cost Joe his life. But she's finally here. She's a whole person. She's not the same and she has a lot to offer."
Others who spoke at the sentencing included Reiko Hidaka Scott, cupita's ex-girlfriend, who said that "He was just such a nice, sweet, personable person. He really lived his life through his music and making people happy."
In the end, Haye rejected the battered woman defense put forth by Keller, but weighed that against Feuer's contributions and his own experiences caring for a Alzheimer's patient. Since manslaughter is a violent crime, Feurer must serve 85% of her sentence. She was credited with almost three years behind bars.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
BBC - Devon, England sex offender's jail term appeal rejected
A sex offender from Devon who breached an order banning him from contacting people over the age of 60 has failed in a bid to reduce his latest jail term.
Derek Francis Hornett, of Crossways, Whitestone, Exeter, was jailed in 2005 for three years for knowingly infecting an 82-year-old Paignton woman with HIV. In May, Hornett was again sentenced to three years for breaching the order.
Judges at the Court of Appeal rejected the 49-year-old's case, saying his sentence was "richly deserved".
Hornett, who knew he was HIV positive, was first jailed for causing grievous bodily harm to the elderly woman after having sex with her and infecting her with the HIV virus.
He was jailed by Judge Graham Cottle in December 2005, who told Hornett his actions had devastated his victim both physically and mentally. As part of that sentence, Hornett was given a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) banning him from contacting people over 60.
But, within months of being released from jail, Hornett struck up a friendship with a 66-year-old woman, who he did odd jobs for.
Police were called in when the woman became suspicious. They discovered that Hornett had befriended three other women over 60, one of whom was in her 80s.
He was jailed for three years for breaching the SOPO.
His lawyers argued Hornett's sentence should be reduced to give him the chance to care for his seriously ill wife. But Mr Justice Foskett said: "Nothing we have heard persuades us that it's right to make any alteration to a richly deserved sentence."
Derek Francis Hornett, of Crossways, Whitestone, Exeter, was jailed in 2005 for three years for knowingly infecting an 82-year-old Paignton woman with HIV. In May, Hornett was again sentenced to three years for breaching the order.
Judges at the Court of Appeal rejected the 49-year-old's case, saying his sentence was "richly deserved".
Hornett, who knew he was HIV positive, was first jailed for causing grievous bodily harm to the elderly woman after having sex with her and infecting her with the HIV virus.
He was jailed by Judge Graham Cottle in December 2005, who told Hornett his actions had devastated his victim both physically and mentally. As part of that sentence, Hornett was given a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) banning him from contacting people over 60.
But, within months of being released from jail, Hornett struck up a friendship with a 66-year-old woman, who he did odd jobs for.
Police were called in when the woman became suspicious. They discovered that Hornett had befriended three other women over 60, one of whom was in her 80s.
He was jailed for three years for breaching the SOPO.
His lawyers argued Hornett's sentence should be reduced to give him the chance to care for his seriously ill wife. But Mr Justice Foskett said: "Nothing we have heard persuades us that it's right to make any alteration to a richly deserved sentence."
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Rape trial of SC man accused of assault of great grandmother ends in mistrial
(Original Post 6-4-08)
The rape trial of a man accused of raping a now 84 year old woman started Monday, June 2 with the detective reading Brandon Vernard Johnson’s confession in the June 9, 2006 rape. He is charged with holding the great-grandmother captive while raping her for nearly 9 hours. The captivity happened after he escorted her back from a grocery store.
On the night of the incident, she reportedly cried for help and called her assailant a "sick son of a bitch," according to a Charleston County Sheriff's Office official who responded to her Harbor View Road home and testified this week.
Another sheriff's official quoted Johnson, now 24, as saying the sex was consensual but that he ran out of the house because the appearance of a young black man having sex with an older white woman didn't look good.
The woman was in the courtroom for the start of the trial. Charleston County sheriff deputy Detective Matthew Lariccia testified on Monday that Johnson asked to speak to authorities, and that he admitted “I need help” and “I wish there was something I could do to undo what I did.”
9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said the woman’s nosy neighbors led to Johnson being caught and that the woman, who lived on the same street for 3 decades, had her independence robbed and “after that night, she has never been able to return to that house.”
Defense lawyer Beatie Butler said that things are not always what they seemed, and that Johnson wasn’t fully aware of what happened.
Johnson was free on bail on drug trafficking and gun charges in Summerville, SC when the attack occurred.
(Update 6-6-08)
The deliberations started yesterday, with jurors spending 2 hours deliberating Johnson's verdict.
After hearing case testimony for most of the week, Circuit Judge Steven John sent the members of the jury home Thursday night following two hours of deliberations at the Charleston County Judicial Center.
In her closing argument, 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said the woman's battered condition, bruised body and ripped clothing was enough to prove that a rape occurred.
"Do you think someone would consent to that kind of pain?" Gordon asked the jurors, adding that "someone who consented doesn't stand in the living room, naked, yelling for help."
Prior to the attack, the woman was known to walk the neighborhood and visit nearby stores. She reportedly suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome in the wake of the incident.
Defense lawyer Beattie Butler made several points in his closing argument, including that the woman's dementia manifested while Johnson was in the home and led to an event.
The attack is alleged to have begun about 8 p.m. on June 9, 2006, and lasted until early in the morning on June 10, 2006. According to case testimony and evidence, Johnson was arrested outside the home just after he fled.
Johnson faces 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
(Update 6-7-08) The jury, after 10 hours of deliberations over 2 days, has declared a mistrial. Statements from the victim, who is suffering from Alzheimers were not admitted, a fact that prosecutors say hampered their case.
Ninth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said she intends to try Johnson again, but will consult with the victim's family. Johnson was taken back to the Charleston County Detention Center where he has been held since the incident.
Johnson's family declined comment, but the elderly woman's family said they were stunned by the outcome. "This assault never seems to end," a spokesperson said.
Jurors declined to speak in detail afterward. "It's been a long week and I don't want to talk about it," one said.
"Close, very close," another said of the deliberations. "That's all I'm going to say."
The jury had three options to consider:
--First-degree criminal sexual conduct, which covers nonconsensual sex with aggravating factors such as robbery, confinement or burglary.
--Third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which can cover improper sex with someone who is mentally unable to consent.
--Assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Hours into the deliberation Friday, and with no decision on the horizon, the jury sent a note to Circuit Judge Steven H. John asking if it were possible to consider the much less severe charge of simple battery. The judge declined, and the mistrial was declared later in the day.
Defense lawyer Beatie Butler said the case was difficult for both sides, and that Johnson, impaired because of drinking, and the woman, impaired because of Alzheimer's, may not have known what was going on.
"A significant number of jurors thought Brandon was not guilty," Butler said, adding that others thought him guilty only of a simple assault.
The woman's family said late Friday that they dread having to sit through another trial. But they also said they know Johnson's family, likewise, is in pain.
"We feel for them," a spokesperson said. "Not him, but his family."
The rape trial of a man accused of raping a now 84 year old woman started Monday, June 2 with the detective reading Brandon Vernard Johnson’s confession in the June 9, 2006 rape. He is charged with holding the great-grandmother captive while raping her for nearly 9 hours. The captivity happened after he escorted her back from a grocery store.
On the night of the incident, she reportedly cried for help and called her assailant a "sick son of a bitch," according to a Charleston County Sheriff's Office official who responded to her Harbor View Road home and testified this week.
Another sheriff's official quoted Johnson, now 24, as saying the sex was consensual but that he ran out of the house because the appearance of a young black man having sex with an older white woman didn't look good.
The woman was in the courtroom for the start of the trial. Charleston County sheriff deputy Detective Matthew Lariccia testified on Monday that Johnson asked to speak to authorities, and that he admitted “I need help” and “I wish there was something I could do to undo what I did.”
9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said the woman’s nosy neighbors led to Johnson being caught and that the woman, who lived on the same street for 3 decades, had her independence robbed and “after that night, she has never been able to return to that house.”
Defense lawyer Beatie Butler said that things are not always what they seemed, and that Johnson wasn’t fully aware of what happened.
Johnson was free on bail on drug trafficking and gun charges in Summerville, SC when the attack occurred.
(Update 6-6-08)
The deliberations started yesterday, with jurors spending 2 hours deliberating Johnson's verdict.
After hearing case testimony for most of the week, Circuit Judge Steven John sent the members of the jury home Thursday night following two hours of deliberations at the Charleston County Judicial Center.
In her closing argument, 9th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said the woman's battered condition, bruised body and ripped clothing was enough to prove that a rape occurred.
"Do you think someone would consent to that kind of pain?" Gordon asked the jurors, adding that "someone who consented doesn't stand in the living room, naked, yelling for help."
Prior to the attack, the woman was known to walk the neighborhood and visit nearby stores. She reportedly suffered post-traumatic stress syndrome in the wake of the incident.
Defense lawyer Beattie Butler made several points in his closing argument, including that the woman's dementia manifested while Johnson was in the home and led to an event.
The attack is alleged to have begun about 8 p.m. on June 9, 2006, and lasted until early in the morning on June 10, 2006. According to case testimony and evidence, Johnson was arrested outside the home just after he fled.
Johnson faces 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
(Update 6-7-08) The jury, after 10 hours of deliberations over 2 days, has declared a mistrial. Statements from the victim, who is suffering from Alzheimers were not admitted, a fact that prosecutors say hampered their case.
Ninth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Elizabeth Gordon said she intends to try Johnson again, but will consult with the victim's family. Johnson was taken back to the Charleston County Detention Center where he has been held since the incident.
Johnson's family declined comment, but the elderly woman's family said they were stunned by the outcome. "This assault never seems to end," a spokesperson said.
Jurors declined to speak in detail afterward. "It's been a long week and I don't want to talk about it," one said.
"Close, very close," another said of the deliberations. "That's all I'm going to say."
The jury had three options to consider:
--First-degree criminal sexual conduct, which covers nonconsensual sex with aggravating factors such as robbery, confinement or burglary.
--Third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which can cover improper sex with someone who is mentally unable to consent.
--Assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Hours into the deliberation Friday, and with no decision on the horizon, the jury sent a note to Circuit Judge Steven H. John asking if it were possible to consider the much less severe charge of simple battery. The judge declined, and the mistrial was declared later in the day.
Defense lawyer Beatie Butler said the case was difficult for both sides, and that Johnson, impaired because of drinking, and the woman, impaired because of Alzheimer's, may not have known what was going on.
"A significant number of jurors thought Brandon was not guilty," Butler said, adding that others thought him guilty only of a simple assault.
The woman's family said late Friday that they dread having to sit through another trial. But they also said they know Johnson's family, likewise, is in pain.
"We feel for them," a spokesperson said. "Not him, but his family."
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