Man handed suspended sentence over role in Blenheim Palace £4.8m gold toilet heist
One of the gang members convicted over the theft of a £4.8m gold toilet from an art exhibition at Blenheim Palace has been handed a suspended sentence at Oxford crown court.
Frederick Doe, 36, also known as Frederick Sines, from Windsor, had been convicted by a jury of conspiring to transfer criminal property. He was accused of offering to find a buyer for the gold and brokering the deal.
Judge Ian Pringle KC sentenced Doe to 21 months' imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to do 240 hours of unpaid work.
Doe was found guilty by a jury at the same court in March of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. He helped one of the men who pleaded guilty to carrying out the burglary, James Sheen, to sell some of the gold in the following weeks, the court heard.
The judge said Doe had been of previous good character and accepted that the conspirators may have taken advantage of his good nature. Pringle said Doe was 'targeted' for his legitimate contacts in the Hatton Garden jewellery district.
The 18-carat fully functioning lavatory, which weighed about 98kg, was stolen in September 2019 while it was featuring in an art exhibition and is believed to have been broken up and disposed of. None of the gold has been recovered.
Two other men will be sentenced in June for their part in the heist. Michael Jones was found guilty of planning the burglary and James Sheen admitted stealing the toilet.
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