Latest news with #SnaresbrookCrownCourt
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'Pregnant Bella May Culley faces awful fate, raising a baby in jail destroyed me'
As pregnant 'drug mule' Bella May Culley pleads with the judge as she awaits her fate in Georgia, one woman recalls the harrowing reality of raising your child in prison Pregnant British teen Bella May Culley is facing life behind bars in Georgia after allegedly smuggling drugs into the country. And now questions are being raised about what life may look like for her and her baby if she is convicted. The 18-year-old today has issued a plea in court to see her story "through my eyes" – as it emerged she is due to have a baby boy. Bella – who previously claimed to have been tortured – told the judge: "I hope you understand my story through my eyes. I never thought something like this would happen to me." While her case unfolds in a foreign justice system thousands of miles from home, back in the UK, one woman knows all too well what it means to become a mother behind bars. Molly Ellis, now 32, was 26 years old and pregnant with her second child when she was convicted of conspiracy to defraud with a custodial sentence to serve seven years behind bars. Just 12 weeks after giving birth to Isla in December 2016, Molly walked through the gates of HMP Bronzefield to begin her sentence. "It was one of the hardest decisions of my life choosing to bring Isla into prison with me," she tells The Mirror. "But I couldn't face being apart from her." Pregnant 'drug mule' Bella Culley pleads with court as baby's gender revealed Pregnant Bella May Culley in court with bump as 'drug mule' teen's dad blows kiss Molly's journey into the criminal justice system was one full of trauma, desperation and, as she describes it, a "lack of support" at every turn. At just 16, she fell pregnant with her partner Michael Ogbuehi. But just weeks before she was due to give birth, the couple were involved in a horrific assault on a train from Southend. "He was left brain damaged," she says. "He couldn't walk or talk. I was his next of kin. He had no family - he came from the care system - and I had to care for him at the same time I was raising our newborn. "I completely spiralled. I couldn't work, I couldn't cope financially or emotionally. I was supporting him in hospital while raising a baby. I was very vulnerable. I was desperate. I wanted to be a good mum, but I had no way out." Molly found herself plummeting into a downward spiral following the attack that left her raising her daughter alone. "I got involved with a bad crowd," she explains. At 21-years-old, she found herself embroiled in a fraud case with a VIP car company after trying to put through a fake transaction, with Snaresbrook Crown Court sentencing her to a seven year custodial sentence five years after her initial crime took place. "When I finally got sentenced, I was two months post-partum," she explains. "Then I found out I could bring Isla into prison with me. Because of my first experience - having to parent while dealing with trauma - I didn't want to lose that bond." But from day one, it was clear that parenting in prison was a vastly different experience from the outside world. "There are only a handful of prisons in the UK that allow you to have your child with you - Bronzefield being one of them. You're completely separate from the main prison wings, but it's still a prison. You're locked behind doors. There are bars on the windows. You can't take your child outdoors unless it's part of an organised activity. Everything is controlled by the prison regime." Molly describes how emotionally harrowing the experience became. "It was mentally destroying. I was bonding with my daughter everyday, knowing she was going to be taken from me at some point. You get close to your baby, you hold them daily, and then you're reminded that this is temporary." At nine months, Molly made the heart-wrenching decision to send Isla to live with her parents. "She started becoming aware of the environment. She could see uniforms. I thought the kindest thing I could do was let her go." That handover remains one of her darkest memories. "They bring your family into the visit hall. You pass your baby across, and they walk away. You don't know when you'll see them again." As Bella May Culley awaits trial in Georgia, the possibility of her serving time while pregnant - or with a newborn - is becoming increasingly real. Bella is alleged to have smuggled dozens of bags of cannabis and hashish into the former Soviet Union country of Georgia and is currently being held in prison. For Molly, the thought of a teenage mother giving birth abroad, alone, is "terrifying." "She's a UK citizen with a UK child in her stomach. Why is no one stepping in? Will she get nappies? Maternity support? Will her family be able to visit? Will she even be allowed to keep the baby with her? These are the things nobody is asking." She adds: "I saw women give birth in prison cells because they weren't taken seriously. Officers ignored calls for help. Imagine that happening to Bella in another country. It's unthinkable." While Molly doesn't excuse crime, she believes there must be a line between punishment and protection. "If Bella is guilty, yes, she needs to be held accountable. But this is a young girl, pregnant, and potentially alone in a foreign prison." Molly was eventually released after serving two and a half years in prison. She didn't see her daughter again for nearly nine months after the separation. "I didn't want her to see me in prison again. I waited until I was on temporary release. But by then, I had to rebuild everything. The bond, the trust, the relationship - it all had to start from scratch." Her eldest daughter, Ava, also suffered during Molly's time in prison. "She was just about to start Year 7 when I was released. She didn't understand why I left her. There was trauma there, deep trauma. Even now, we're still repairing our relationship." What followed was years of reintegration, from learning how to parent again to rebuilding a life from the ground up. "You can't show emotion in prison. You can't cry or fall apart. But when you're out, you have to become soft again - for your children. That's the hardest part." Today, Molly, from Essex, runs Project Accountability, a charity that works with care leavers, victims of domestic abuse, and young people at risk of knife crime and gang involvement. "I now go into prisons and work with people who remind me of myself. I know how they got there. We look at their trauma, their past, their triggers - and we offer them employment routes, therapy, mentorship." The charity is continuing to expand, with plans to gain government funding and help more children and people from underprivileged backgrounds to change their pathway and gain employment. James Pipe, Legal Expert at Felons Assistance, warns that Bella faces one of the "most serious offences a tourist can face." He adds: "In many countries, including Georgia, drug offences carry long custodial sentences, and prison conditions may not meet the standards we expect in the UK." And he thinks it might be hard for her to return to the UK. "This is not a case of the UK stepping in to 'rescue' someone from justice abroad, It's about ensuring that due process is followed and her rights, particularly as a pregnant detainee, are respected."
The Irish Sun
7 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Celeb osteopath who parked outside uni halls with telescope and camera to perv on female students undressing is jailed
A CELEB osteopath who parked outside uni halls with a telescope and camera to perv on female students undressing has been jailed. Torben Hersborg wore a balaclava to hide his face and lay in the back of his Lexus to spy on the women in King's Cross, London. 3 Torben Hersborg, pictured with Mads Mikkelsen, spied on female students 3 He has now been jailed for three years Credit: PA The 64-year-old, whose celeb clients included Fearne Cotton and actress He has now been jailed for three years and five months and made the subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). The osteopath has pleaded guilty to three charges of observing a person doing a private act "for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification". Snaresbrook Crown Court heard the offences took place on December 10, 14 and 21 last year. Read more news Varinder Hayre, prosecuting, said: "On December 21 at about 9pm, a member of the public reported that a male in a car has been taking photographs and videos of students in university students' accommodation. "The member of the public also said he has seen the male in the car about four years ago." The bystander also called police on December 10 and 14 but officers did not attend, the court heard. Hersborg was caught by police wearing black gloves and had black plastic bags lining the seats. Most read in The Sun When asked what he was doing, Hersborg claimed he had gone for drinks but felt like he was going to "pass out" on the way home so pulled over. But officers discovered a battery in his pocket and a camera and telescope in his car. Police recovered 68 images and videos that showed a woman in just a T-shirt, a different female sitting in her bedroom and another "seemingly getting dressed". A search was carried out at Hersborg's home and a large quantity of digital devices was seized. He gave no comment in his police interview, except to say he was "sorry for the whole situation". Hersborg is the director of the Central London Osteopathy and Sports Clinic in Old Street. His social media included video of a treatment session with Strictly star Viscountess Hersborg has also worked with Italian Serie A football team Brescia and the Danish Tennis Federation. He has been suspended from practising as an Osteopath by the General Osteopathic Council. Alex Weichselbaum of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Hersborg operated in plain sight for too long and, having targeted thousands of women over 12 years, we believe the scale and significance of his offending makes him one of London's most prolific voyeurs. "His meticulously planned acts included setting up secret cameras in his clinic and covertly filming women - both in public and when they thought they were in the privacy of their own homes . "Hersborg deliberately abused the trust of his unwitting patients by filming them in intimate positions and targeted strangers for his own sexual gratification. "Women should be free to live their lives without unwanted intrusion – particularly from sexual offenders like Hersborg who deliberately chose to film or photograph them in their most private or intimate moments." 3 Hersborg with US boxer Tim Witherspoon Credit: Central News
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Barrister defending ‘Starmer fire-bomber' fined for drinking during a trial
A barrister who will defend an alleged fire-bomber of Sir Keir Starmer's house has been fined after he was caught drinking brandy in his car during the lunch break of a trial. Dominic Charles D'Souza had a daytime drink in the car park of Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London in March 2023. The trial collapsed when his tipple was discovered by the judge, who discharged the jury. Mr D'Souza has now been fined £3,000 by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) for 'professional misconduct'. A tribunal heard last month that the barrister, who is head of crime at London's Goldsmith Chambers, was representing a client in a criminal trial on March 23. During the lunch break, Mr D'Souza went to his car and drank brandy while sitting in the driver's seat. He was filmed by the driver of a van parked next to him, who then made a complaint to the judge. 'The film shows [Mr D'Souza] to take two short drinks from a bottle of spirits,' a BSB tribunal found. Mr D'Souza initially denied that he had been drinking brandy and told the BSB he 'was drinking Kombucha from a brandy bottle'. But he later admitted drinking brandy, saying he 'was ill and... that he took drink to calm his stomach'. The tribunal's report reads: 'When a report of this behaviour was made to the judge, Mr D'Souza withdrew from the case, the jury was discharged, and a new date was fixed for the criminal trial.' The panel concluded that the barrister had 'behaved in a way which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in him or in the profession'. It found that he had also 'behaved in a way which foreseeably interfered with the administration of justice' and 'wasted the time of the court'. 'It is difficult to conceive of a situation more likely to cause public disquiet than a barrister engaged in a trial sitting in the driver's seat of a car in the Crown Court car park drinking directly from a bottle of spirits,' the panel ruled. 'However, we bear in mind that [Mr D'Souza] believed himself to be acting unobserved in private, that he drank very little, and that he did so misguidedly in circumstances when he was unwell.' It added: 'There is no suggestion that [Mr D'Souza] was drunk before or after the event; in fact the evidence suggests he had performed effectively in Court.' Mr D'Souza, who was called to the bar in 1993, admitted three disciplinary charges brought against him by the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service (BTAS). He was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,670. Mr D'Souza is one of Britain's most prominent defence barristers and is said to achieve 'spectacular results for clients', according to his Goldsmith Chambers biography. 'Dominic is an exceptionally charismatic jury advocate and over his 25 years at the Bar has become well known for his powerful cross examinations and dramatic closing speeches,' it reads. He has been instructed to defend one of the men charged in connection with arson attacks on properties owned by the Prime Minister earlier this year. The barrister was previously in hot water in 2021 after he posted a photo from inside his electric Tesla car that appeared to show he was travelling at 59mph. He denied that he was driving when the photo was taken, saying he was 'parked in a service station'. Using a mobile phone while driving is a criminal offence punishable by a £200 fine and six points on a licence. However, no further action was taken against D'Souza.
Times
20-05-2025
- Times
Fraudster used wigs and fake IDs to take citizenship tests
A woman who used wigs and false documents to pretend to be 13 people taking UK citizenship tests has been jailed for four years and six months. Josephine Maurice, 61, a former bus driver, attended test centres across England to fraudulently take the 'life in the UK' test between June 1, 2022 and August 14, 2023, Snaresbrook crown court was told. The test is a requirement for anyone seeking indefinite leave to remain or naturalisation as a British citizen. It consists of 24 questions aimed at 'proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society'. Sentencing Maurice, of Enfield, north London, on Tuesday, Judge Anthony Callaway described her actions as a 'wholesale assault' on the immigration system and said that there had
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Telegraph
This is an assault on the immigration system, judge tells citizenship test fraudster
A judge has said a fraudster who wore 13 wigs to take citizenship tests for migrants committed a 'wholesale assault' on the immigration system. Josephine Maurice, 61, travelled around the country, using a series of disguises and false documents to take the Life in the UK test on behalf of migrants. She pretended to be 13 different people between June 1 2022 and Aug 14 2023, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard. Maurice, a former bus driver of Enfield, north London, was jailed for four years and six months after pleading guilty to 13 counts of fraud, a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud and two counts of possession of another person's identity documents. District Judge Anthony Callaway, sentencing on Tuesday, described Maurice's actions as 'wholesale assault' on the immigration system and said there was a 'clear advantage' to people who wanted to progress towards citizenship without following all the procedures. The Life in the UK test is a requirement for anyone seeking to obtain indefinite leave to remain or naturalisation as a British citizen. According to the Home Office, it consists of 24 questions aimed at 'proving the applicant has sufficient knowledge of British values, history and society'. The judge told Maurice, who appeared via video link: 'You attended test centres fraudulently undertaking Life in the UK tests on behalf of other persons who, naturally, were supposed to and were intended to be there. 'It is clear that the fraud was deliberate and sophisticated and involved the alteration of identity documents, travel documents, false wigs and other matters. 'The geography was varied. You attended in person a variety of centres in London and elsewhere including Stratford, Luton, Hounslow, Reading, Oxford, Nottingham and Milton Keynes.' 'Well-organised' scam Provisional driving licences were found at her home after her arrest earlier this year. Maurice has a previous fraud conviction dating back to August 2015 and 'there are similarities' to the current case as it involved her 'impersonating' someone in order to take a driving theory test, the judge said. Maurice appeared via video link from HMP Bronzefield where she has been a 'model inmate'. Earlier prosecutor Nana Owusuh said it is difficult for investigators to quantify the financial benefits of the 'well-organised' scam or to 'calibrate any gains'. Maurice's defence lawyer, Stephen Akinsanya, described it as 'an unusual case' and told the court that for the 'level of sophistication and planning – the crown has provided no evidence that she is the mastermind of this.' 'Coercion and intimidation' He said: 'This is someone who has found herself involved in something far more serious than she envisioned. She found herself trapped to people she owed a sum of money. 'There are some levels of coercion and intimidation. She was not motivated by personal gain.' Of Maurice, he said: 'Prior to her arrest she was a bus driver with Arriva and looking after her 25-year-old son who was afflicted with schizophrenia.' Mr Akinsanya said: 'She foolishly agreed to help someone and this is where it has landed her – in custody and away from her son who is clearly vulnerable, that's what keeps her awake at night. 'She understands the implications of what she has done and for national security, and the court can treat such matters harshly.'
