COURT AND CRIME NEWSLETTER

Hello and happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekends, I have had a nice long one after taking some annual leave but straight back to tomorrow with an attempted murder trial so make sure you keep a look out for that.

Before we get ahead of ourselves, let us jump straight into all things court and crime from the past week.

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The first trial which has been ongoing this week is that of a Wantage man accused of abusing a child.

Daniel Lewis, 44, is accused of smothering the boy (who cannot be named for legal reasons) with pillows, pushing him, digging his knuckles into his legs, slapping him, and gripping him around the neck.

He has denied the offences, explaining during his defence that some of them simply did not happen or happened in a different way.

The Oxford Mail was mentioned in the trial actually when one of the witnesses for the prosecution chose to testify after reading one of the articles.

It's a difficult case for many reasons - one hearing the alleged abuse a child suffered - and two because of an order protecting the child's identity it means a lot of content has to be left out.

Usually, a direction will be made under Section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 for child witnesses/victims and this is usual put in place at the lower courts automatically.

It was unclear in this case if the order was in place for this case so the judge put a temporary Section 46 of the same act in place.

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Over in a different courtroom, the trial of a football coach accused of asking boys for indecent photos in exchange for naked pictures of his girlfriend is taking place.

Luke Newman, 29, who worked for Chipping Norton Swifts FC, allegedly messaged two youngsters asking for pictures of them in their boxers.

In exchange, he reportedly promised to send them back a naked picture of his girlfriend.

Newman, of Evans Way, Chipping Norton, has denied the offences.

This is the first trial where I've seen the analysis of emojis and what the sender means when using them.

Newman sent this emoji to one boy: 😘 but claimed it was an accident due to being in his recently used emojis.

There was also questions whether this emoji: 👀 was flirty. Newman said it was just a 'looking emoji'.

I can imagine this is going to be a more frequent discussion we see in trials moving forward! 🙄 (Face with rolling eyes so there is no dispute)

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Lastly, a judge dubbed a ‘serial domestic abuser’ a ‘violent and manipulative bully’ after he stamped on his girlfriend’s head after a day of drinking.

Ashley Day was caught stamping and kicking his girlfriend, Anna Needle, outside a Beefeater pub in Southcote Lane, Reading on December 4 last year.

Sentencing him to three years imprisonment, Recorder James Hay said: “You’re 38 years of age and have an atrocious set of previous offences for assault against women.

“You are a serial domestic abuser and a violent manipulative bully.

"There is no doubt that your behaviour flies past the custody threshold in this case.”

During sentencing, Recorder Hay told the defendant to stop looking at his partner in the public gallery.

He said: “In almost every line of your presentence report it shows how you tried to manipulate the situation.

“I could see you looking at the public gallery the whole time.”

Day replied: “It’s because I love her.”

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And of course, don't forget there is a new episode of the Oxfordshire Court & Crime Podcast is out now!

It focuses on the details of a 'depraved' sex offender who raped his own daughter from the age of five who died in prison - Terry Haynes.

Terry Haynes (Image: TVP)

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your pods!

Listeners only need to search for 'The Oxfordshire Court and Crime Podcast'.

Have questions for the podcast? Email gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk with the subject heading 'Crime Podcast Question'.

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And that is everything from me! I will leave you with the latest Scales of Justice here. (court listings).

To keep updated with all things court and crime, follow me on:

Twitter: @geeharland

Facebook: Gee Harland

Podcast: Spotify link

My Facebook group: Court and crime news Oxfordshire

or visit oxfordmail.co.uk

Have a story? Email me at gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk