Local News

Two men who used a fake banking app to steal a £2,000 graphics card advertised on Facebook have been sentenced following a lengthy investigation. Shane McDonagh, 27, (DOB 22/07/1998), from Blackburn in Lancashire, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay £190 to the victim surcharge following charges of theft from the person of another, fraud and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, while Eamon Maughan*, 23, (DOB 07/03/2002), from Little Billington in Bedfordshire, was sentenced to a 12 month community order, including 200 hours of unpaid work, and was ordered to pay £1,050 in compensation to the victim after being charged with theft from the person of another. Officers received a 999 call just before 7pm on 3 January 2022 reporting a fight in progress on Station Road, Addlestone. The victim was found at Tesco Extra in Addlestone with facial injuries. He said that two men had stolen a graphics card worth £2,100 from him after they had contacted him through Facebook Marketplace where the card had been advertised for sale. Maughan drove McDonagh into Surrey to meet the victim at the Tesco store and waited outside acting as look-out. McDonagh showed the victim a fake Bank of Ireland app on his phone showing he had transferred the money to him for the graphics card. As the victim and McDonagh walked out of the store onto Station Road, the victim realised the money had not entered his account and tried to get the card back from McDonagh. He was assaulted by McDonagh before both he and Maughan made off down an alleyway. In his personal statement, which was read out to the court, the victim said: “The crime had a devastating impact both, on my physical wellbeing and my mental health. I was in so much shock that I was frightened of going outside and had to book some time off work after the incident. I could not eat and sleep properly in the following days.” *Under current guidelines we release custody images for those given custodial sentences of 12 months or more.

A former teacher has been jailed for sexually abusing two students in his care. Paul Clifton, 55, (15/06/1970) of Sidcup, was sentenced to five years and seven months in prison for:

• Sexual communications with a child

• Sexual activity with a child involving touching

• Four counts of sexual activity with a child involving penetration

• Causing and inciting sexual activity with a child

• Two counts of abuse of position of trust – causing or inciting sexual activity with a child

He will also be subject to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has been placed on the Children’s Barred List, prohibiting him from working with children again. Katherine (not her real name) was a 15-year-old student at a school in Surrey in 2017 when Clifton began a relationship with her. Struggling with stress at home and issues with friends at school, Katherine used creative writing to express herself and asked Clifton, her English teacher, for help. He used this as a way of gaining her trust, making her feel special and encouraging a relationship between them. In 2006 Alison (not her real name), then 15, was groomed by Clifton, who was her English teacher at a school in Kent. Initially, Alison said, Clifton would belittle her in class, making her feel stupid and talking about her love life. Having exchanged phone numbers, Clifton’s tone changed. He texted Alison telling her he missed her and asking for photos of her that grew progressively more explicit, and he convinced her they were in love. In her victim impact statement, Alison said, “Paul Clifton made me feel stupid and unworthy. He created an image that I would never amount to anything without him. What happened to me…is something that can never be undone.”

In her victim impact statement, Katherine said, “Asking how this impacts my life is like asking someone how they breathe. The age I was when this happened is such a pivotal age. It is when you start finding yourself, when you start carving out who you are. The defendant robbed that from me.” Investigating officer, DC Nicola Deadman, said, “Clifton is a predator who targeted children. As a teacher, he should have had his students’ safety and their best interests at the forefront of his mind. He used the legitimacy of his position to establish trust and then groom the girls he was responsible for safeguarding. They trusted him and he betrayed their trust for his own ends. I’d like to pay tribute to the courage of the two victim-survivors, who have shown immense strength of character and bravery in coming forward and reliving these traumatic events to see justice done.”

Officers in Staines conducted a joint operation with Trading Standards focusing on anti-social behaviour around Staines Town Centre. The object of the operation was to target the sale of vapes, illicit tobacco and alcohol to underage young people. PC 42542 KAIKINI HAUGHTON, who was involved in the operation said "The operation was a huge success, with a large quantity of non-compliant vapes being seized from two priority locations where investigations will be conducted by Trading Standards. Test purchasers were deployed to other priority establishments, with undercover police officers nearby to see if they were sold alcohol without being asked for ID. Out of the five different shops attended, only one shop sold the test purchaser alcohol. This shop will also be the subject of an investigation by Trading Standards." "Surrey Police is committed to preventing anti-social behaviour throughout Surrey. We aim to do this by regularly running operations like the one we conducted today and ensure that alcohol and illegal vapes are not being sold to underage young people."