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Isle of Wight child sex offender's sentence to be reviewed

Isle of Wight child sex offender's sentence to be reviewed

BBC News11-02-2025

Government law officers are considering whether a suspended sentence handed to a child sex offender may have been too lenient.Samuel Huckle, from Cowes, avoided jail after being convicted of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.The 20-year-old, who was sentenced at Isle of Wight Crown Court on Friday, was handed a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years.The Attorney General's office confirmed it had received a request for the sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
In addition to the suspended sentence, Huckle was ordered to undertake a 26-day programme, a 10-day rehabilitation activity and 180 hours of unpaid work.Under the government scheme, anyone can ask for a crown court sentence to be reviewed if they think it is too short.A statement from the Attorney General's office said: "Only one referral is needed for a case to be considered and the law officers have 28 days from sentencing to consider the case and make a decision."
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Seagull has swastika daubed on its head by sick jailbird at prison that was home to the Krays, Peter Sutcliffe and Gary Glitter
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Husband wanted to 'do the right thing by terminally ill wife' before they plunged to their death with their two Dachshunds off 300ft cliff, friends claim
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Retired bus driver Kevin Parsons, 70, said his ex-colleague and friend John moved to the Isle of Wight a couple of years ago with the intention to retire on the island when he finished his career as a bus driver. 'That was the plan', Mr Parsons said. Mr Parsons, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, said he worked with John at the Stagecoach Winchester depot 10 years ago for about three years before John started working for Southern Vectis on the island. He said John knew the private, 'very narrow', road which the car drove off the cliff from very well as it was part of a bus route he used to drive. Father of four Mr Parsons said: 'I've only met [John] a couple of times. 'I heard the other day somebody said that she had had a terminal diagnosis. 'What it was, I don't know. 'It would have to be something really bad for that to happen.' Speaking about the speculation that John might have acted intentionally, Mr Parsons said: 'I find it really hard to believe that John would do something like that. 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Mr Parsons thinks that John could have had a 'medical incident' which caused the crash. John had a heart attack a few years ago and was off work for a year, according to his former colleague. The Kings' rented home is a three-bed terraced home on a street in Cowes, a seaside town. Two dog ornaments can be seen in the window, as well as a small sign with an illustration of a sausage dog with the word 'dachshund' above it. A neighbour of the Kings, who did not want to be named, said that when Lynn answered the door to their acquaintance, she only opened it a crack and said that she was 'in all day'. Of Lynn's appearance, the young man said it seemed as if she had a serious illness. 'Just like, if you had some sort of, feeling rough or bone issues or something I guess', he said. 'I'm only going by my mum really, because my mum used to be like that, frail, she couldn't move her head due to arthritis, that was many years ago. 'I've seen them come out with their dogs sometimes.' 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'Just from, as I say, the few times I would speak to him he would stroke the dog.' Another neighbour, a young woman, said of John: 'He always wore braces with a blue shirt and grey trousers. 'I've never seen her [Mrs King], but it was really sad last night coming home and seeing an ornament in the living room window - a sausage dog, that's so sad.' She said she also saw police in the street after the incident. She wondered whether the incident was a purposeful act - they said: 'I wouldn't call people selfish for doing that [...] but why the dogs?' Someone else living on the same street, a middle-aged man, said that the couple were 'very quiet' and 'quite elderly' - Lynn was a 'small grey-haired lady'. He said: 'I only saw her recently, a couple of times a few weeks ago. 'I only ever used to see him just coming and going over to work or doing a bit of shopping, nothing really apart from that, on nodding terms I suppose.' The couple's family said in a statement released through police: 'We are all devastated and numb from the loss, and would respect some privacy at this time.' Richard Tyldsley, Southern Vectis general manager, said: 'John King was not an employee of Southern Vectis at the time of his death, having left earlier in the year. 'John had worked for the company as a network driver for two and half years prior to leaving. We are saddened to learn of this tragic event and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.' A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: 'We can confirm the death of two people, a woman and a man, aged 66 and 67 respectively, following an incident at The Needles on the Isle of Wight on Friday June 6. 'We were called at 7.21pm after a Ford Mondeo, which was being driven along Alum Bay New Road, left the road, came off the cliff top and came to rest in the water below. 'Two dogs, both dachshunds, were also in the car and died in the incident. 'Formal identification procedures are ongoing, but next of kin have been notified. A post-mortem examination will take place on Tuesday June 10. 'As part of the ongoing investigation into the incident, which has been referred to the coroner, officers have been carrying out inquiries at an address on Arctic Road, Cowes, to help them to establish what happened.'

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