Paul Clifton, 55, a former English teacher from Sidcup, has been jailed for grooming and sexually abusing two schoolgirls over a period spanning more than a decade. Clifton abused a 16-year-old in south-east London in 2006 and a 15-year-old in Surrey in 2017. He groomed his victims with gifts and special attention before coercing them into long-term sexual relationships. One victim said, “The age I was when this happened is such a pivotal age… The defendant robbed that from me.” Another added, “Paul Clifton made me feel stupid and unworthy… I had a panic attack when he messaged me years later claiming what we had was real.” Clifton pleaded guilty to nine child sex offences and was sentenced to five years in prison.
Daniel Redpath, 25, from Orpington, was jailed for 21 months after causing a fatal crash in April 2023. Redpath was caught speeding at 64mph on a 40mph road and fatally hit 86-year-old Kunwar Singh at a pedestrian crossing in Keston. The elderly man died instantly. Redpath was riding without L plates and held only a provisional licence. He was also banned from driving for three years. The judge condemned Redpath’s “clear disregard for the rules of the road” and described the victim impact statements as “heart-rending.”
Lewis Benjamin and Jamal Ali-Richards have been sentenced for the manslaughter of 34-year-old Justin Henry. Justin was last seen at a McDonald’s drive-thru before his bloodied body was found dumped in a car boot two hours later. Benjamin’s flat was discovered stripped and bloodstained. Benjamin received a 20-year sentence, while Ali-Richards was sentenced to eight and a half years.
Osama Alkhair, 37, an asylum seeker, was convicted of attempted rape after trying to assault a passed-out woman in Croydon last December. He was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. Alkhair will serve two-thirds of his sentence before automatic deportation. The judge stated, “You took advantage of a woman who was clearly incapable of consenting.”
Mark Weatherley, 43, from Sidcup, was jailed for eight years after brutally attacking two female police officers during an arrest attempt in June. Weatherley punched, kicked, and verbally abused the officers, leaving them unconscious with serious facial injuries. Showing no remorse, he said the officers “deserved it” and that he would do it again.
Finlay Riley, 22, was jailed for six weeks after secretly filming a woman in the toilets at Wimbledon station last May. Riley lurked for 45 minutes before fleeing when confronted. He later pleaded guilty to the offence.
Salah Ahmed, 22, from Balham, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the fatal stabbing of his neighbour, 18-year-old Issa Ali Musa Abdularaman-Baracat, during a phone dispute. Ahmed recorded the attack. Issa’s family described him as “generous” and “full of ambition” whose life was “stolen for no reason.”
Bradley Scott and Jevonte White, from Thornton Heath, were convicted for using drones to smuggle drugs, weapons, and phones inside cartons to 17 prisons across the UK. Scott received six years in jail, while White was given a suspended sentence. Police highlighted the serious dangers this posed to prisoners and staff.
Errol McCardo Weir, 49, was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to smuggling 30kg of cocaine hidden in a small plane that landed in Epping. The pilot, Anastasios Balian, was sentenced to nine years.
Shevane Collins, 32, from Lewisham, was sentenced to five years in prison for running a county line trafficking crack cocaine and heroin from London into Eastbourne’s Hampden Park area. Following two arrests and £3,000 in cash seizures, Collins was convicted of drug offences.
Wesley Maughan, 25, was jailed for 22 months after a theft spree targeting Boots stores across Surrey, London, and beyond. He stole more than £34,000 worth of stock and was caught trying to flee the country using a false identity. Maughan pleaded guilty to 13 theft charges.
Originally published by UKNIP.
