Wigan's week in court

A Wigan man has been cleared of driving dangerously. Jonathon Cadman, 48, of Rose Court, Ince, had stood before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to driving a Ford Transit on Little Lane, Goose Green, dangerously and without proper insurance cover on March 7, but he admitted causing £50 damage to his Wigan police station cell after his arrest. At his latest court hearing, the dangerous driving charge was dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence and he admitted to driving without due care and attention instead and also changed his plea to guilty for the driving without insurance charge. He further admitted to failing to surrender to custody when on bail. Court costs, a victim services surcharge, fine and compensation mean he has a total of £404 to pay.

A serial Wigan shoplifter has admitted to a raft of thefts - mainly of cosmetics. Liam Harris, 29, of Field Street, Ince, stood before Wigan justices to plead guilty to eight counts of theft from Asda, Boots, TK Maxx between September and November. Ladies’ electrical items and a bottle of spirits was also taken. Charges of harassing and assaulting a man were dismissed but he also pleaded guilty to causing £1,000 of damage to a door and lock at Atherleigh Park Hospital in Leigh. He returns to court on February 14 for sentencing.

A Wigan 63-year-old has denied committing a series of child sex crimes. James Williamson, of Trevore Drive, Standish, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to face a total of six charges relating to alleged incidents between May 2018 and May 2020. One accuses him of sexually assaulting a girl of 13, two more involve getting a girl of 15 to engage in sexual activity of a non-penetrative nature, a further two concern communications of a sexual nature with an under-16 and one count of indecent exposure. The judge ordered there to be a ground rules hearing on March 16 followed by a section 28 hearing (where certain sensitive testimonies are recorded for later use in a trial) on March 30 and the trial date was set for September 12. Williamson is on bail until then.

A trial date has been set for a woman who denies launching a vicious attack on a man - despite her absence from court due to Covid. Siobhan Green, 32, of Drummond Square, Worsley Hall, had previously appeared before Wigan justices to plead not guilty to the malicious wounding of Mark Liptrot on August 28 and to an alternative charge of causing him actual bodily harm. She had been due to make her first appearance before a Bolton Crown Court judge this month but we absent due to testing positive for coronavirus. However a provisional trial date of September 7 was still set.

A Wigan man who admitted to possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply them has been spared an immediate prison term. Ryan Halliwell, 37, of Gas Street, Platt Bridge, pleaded guilty to both charges when he appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge who, on a resumption for sentencing, gave him a 21-month jail stretch but suspended it for 24 months. He was also ordered to complete three months of curfew confining him to home between the hours of 7pm and 7am and the drugs were confiscated for destruction.

A man has finally admitted to launching a vicious assault. Gary Taylor, 37, of Hood Grove, Leigh, had been due to stand trial at Bolton Crown Court having already pleaded not guilty to causing Paul Checkland grievous bodily harm and breaking a police officer’s phone. But on the first day of the trial he changed his pleas to guilty and was bailed pending sentence on February 8.

The trial of a man who denies molesting a Wigan 15-year-old has been delayed by another seven months. Lairbi Hajoui, 58, of Dickens Place, Worsley Mesnes, has already pleaded not guilty to sexually touching the girl without her consent. Hajoui had first appeared in court a year ago and a Bolton Crown Court judge set a trial date for this month. But now Hajoui has been told that it will not take place until August 30.

A man convicted of vandalising a woman’s car has a big bill to pay. Jamie Evans, 29, of Keble Street, Ince had denied causing £500 of criminal damage to Danielle Johnson’s BMW 1 Series car on June 22 last year. But he was found guilty after a trial at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court and was ordered to pay compensation of £950.

A woman has admitted to one count of fraud but denied another. Kelly Brindle, 36, of Worthington Street, Hindley, stood before Wigan justices to admit using a stolen bank card belonging to James Hunter to make a purchase and so expose the owner to risk of loss on June 27. But she pleaded not guilty to an identical charge relating to another incident the same day. She is further accused of stealing a wallet, its contents and sunglasses belonging to Mr Hunter on June 26 or 27. All the offences are alleged to have taken place in Bolton and it is to that town’s magistrates that the case has now been sent. Brindle will appear before justices next on March 31.

A young woman has denied taking part in a thieving spree. Sophie Price, 26, of Crompton House, Scholes, appeared before Wigan magistrates to plead not guilty to stealing coffee and Yankee Candles worth £50 from Golborne Asda on September 22, more candles worth £42 from Asda in Leigh on September 30 and £49 worth of groceries from B&M Bargains in Leigh on October 12. She was remanded on conditional bail pending a trial on April 12. Price also denied breaching the community requirement of a suspended sentence by missing phone and office appointments and failing to provide evidence to excuse her absence. That case was delayed until March 17.

A Wigan 58-year-old, who made thousands of indecent images of children, has been given a suspended jail sentence. John Willis, of Bolton Road, Aspull, stood before justices to admit to a single charge of creating 9,664 category C (the least serious in legal terms) pictures of youngsters between November 24 2019 and June 3 2020. He was given a four-month prison sentence but it was suspended for 12 months. He will be under supervision for 12 months during which time he must complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities. Willis has also been made the subject of a seven-year sexual harm prevention order mainly restricting computer, internet and social media use, and he must sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the same amount of time.

A policeman from Wigan accused of conspiring to supply confidential information for money has appeared in court for the first time. Akeel Kadir, a constable with Greater Manchester Police, is charged along with three other men all from Bolton. Kadir also faces three offences involving “knowingly or recklessly” obtaining personal data on August 22, 2018, March 2, 2019 and March 26, 2019 without consent contrary to the Data Protection Act 2018. The 52-year-old, of Kilburn Road, Orrell, Wigan, is charged with the conspiracy offence along with Junaid Patel, 33, of Edstone Close; Mohamed Soorma, 48, of Bankfield Street and Soyab Dhalech, 51, of Princess Road, Lostock. The conspiracy offence alleges that between April 13, 2015 and November 13, 2019 at Bolton, Kadir conspired together with Patel, Soorma and Dhalech that as constable he would exercise his powers and privileges improperly. This allegedly involved that he would access confidential information held on GMP systems; provide confidential information to those outside the force; carry out tasks in his capacity of a police officer upon the direction of, or under the influence of, others outside of the force. And also introduce a client to Apex Claims Management, whom he had met during the course of policing duties, and whose introduction took place during the course of his duties. The charge claims that he would receive payments in reward for those activities. All four men, who made a brief appearance before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, have been sent on bail to the city’s crown court to appear on February 17.

A Greater Manchester Police officer who formed an inappropriate relationship with a vulnerable woman has been found guilty of misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice. PC Simon Rose, who lives in Parbold but worked in Salford, was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court after an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into his involvement with the woman, who he met after she reported a crime against her to police. The IOPC received a mandatory conduct referral from the force in October 2019 and began an independent investigation, which concluded in October 2020. Investigators interviewed PC Rose, who lives in Parbold, and obtained statements from witnesses, including colleagues and the woman, as well as analysing mobile phone evidence. PC Rose, 47, first met the woman in 2012 after she reported a crime to police. He admitted forming a professional and friendly relationship with her, but denied it was ever inappropriate. However, evidence was found that the relationship was ongoing in 2019, when he was required to attend her home in a professional capacity. The IOPC obtained evidence he asked colleagues to avoid looking for evidence or overlook any evidence they may find during a search of the property. Following the investigation, the IOPC found PC Rose had a case to answer for gross misconduct for breaching the standards of professional behaviour for - honesty and integrity; authority, respect and courtesy; orders and instructions; and conduct. It referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges against PC Rose. Following a trial lasting nine days, he was found guilty of misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice. He will be sentenced on April 4. IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe said, “PC Rose took advantage of a woman he knew to be vulnerable and his actions have absolutely no place in policing. His subsequent efforts to cover up his behaviour show that he knew what he had done was unacceptable. This abuse of trust seriously risked undermining public confidence in the police and we welcome the jury’s decision. We now await the outcome of disciplinary proceedings, which will be arranged by the force.”