Locked up in Sussex: Here are some of the criminals jailed in June
By Sam Dixon-French
Published 1st Jul 2021, 12:52 BST
Updated 3rd Aug 2021, 12:17 BST
June was a bumper month for Sussex’s judges, juries and magistrates as the county’s courts worked on a backlog built up during the pandemic.
These are some of the most serious, high profile and prolific offenders, including some despicable sex offences, drug dealing and causing death by careless driving.
All information comes either directly from Sussex Police.
1.
Peter Osbourne was jailed after making a bomb hoax at a police station. The 999 call was received at 7.32am on Friday June 18 – the morning after the Manchester Arena bombing inquest published its first report. Peter Osbourne, 60, unemployed and of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with making a bomb hoax, and was remanded in custody. He pleaded guilty to the offence at Brighton Magistrates’ Court the following day (June 19), where he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge. Picture: Sussex Police SUS-210628-180127001
2.
Thomas Jeeves was given a ten-year prison sentence for causing the death of a woman who was a passenger in the car he was driving when it crashed at Ditchling Common, near Burgess Hill, two years ago, police said. Jeeves, 31, of Junction Road, Burgess Hill, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Friday 28 June, having been convicted by a unanimous jury verdict after a five-day trial, of causing death by careless driving whilst over the specified limit for a controlled drug. Jeeves will serve five years in prison, and five years on licence. He was also disqualified for eight years and was ordered to take an extended re-test before he can drive again. Photo: Sussex Police
3.
Sam Kesete was sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment for sexual assaults on two women in Brighton, including the rape of one of them. Kesete, 21, a student and part-time shop worker, of Canterbury Drive, Brighton, was sentenced when he appeared at Hove Crown Court on Thursday 24 June. He had admitted at an earlier hearing of two counts of rape against a womanin his flat in November and of sexually assaulting another woman by touching at Kings Road Arches in September. He will have to serve at least ten years before being considered for release on supervised licence, and even if released before serving 15 years will have to serve a further six years on licence. Kesete will also be a registered sex offender for life. Photo: Sussex Police
4.
Simon Reynolds (pictured), 64, a publican, of Hoe Lane, Flansham, and his nephew Ian Reynolds, 52, self-employed, of Ninfield Road, Bexhill, appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday 23 June, having previously been convicted of fraud by false representation. Simon was sentenced to a total of six years imprisonment and Ian Reynolds was sentenced to three and a half years, said police. Simon Reynolds had pleaded guilty in March 2020 to two counts covering a four year period, and Ian Reynolds not guilty. At a trial in May 2021 Ian Reynolds was found not guilty of a count covering the first two years but guilty to a second count covering the years 2010 to 2012. The prosecution, authorised by the CPS, followed an investigation by East Sussex detectives into the operation by the pair of an online spread betting investment fraud, known as 'Sporting Profits' in which they claimed to provide expert advice relating to various sporting events worldwide, between 2008 and 2012, involving the loss of more than £4.8 millio