London South - Review of the Year

Throughout 2022, CPS London South prosecutors have successfully concluded more than 22,000 prosecutions, helping to deliver justice for our community. There are many successful stories to tell – about the bravery of the victims and witnesses, and the commitment and perseverance of prosecutors and their supporting teams – but here is a snapshot of those which have hit the headlines…

In January, a mother and her son were among a group jailed for killing a 17-year-old in a machete attack, and sentenced to a minimum of 23 years' and 13 years' imprisonment respectively.

In February, we secured the conviction, under modern slavery charges, of a crime gang who coached and exploited teenage girls into a UK-wide shoplifting scam.

While later that month our Complex Crime Unit successfully prosecuted three men who attacked a prison guard while serving terrorism sentences at Belmarsh prison.

Again in February, a five-year restraining order was taken out against Emma Raducanu's stalker, following a successful prosecution by London South Magistrates' team. 

With fraud making up a significant proportion of all crime, our March case is a good example of the success we have in bringing fraudsters to justice, with a fraudster who duped elderly and vulnerable victims jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Also that month, CPS Senior Crown Prosecutor Nathan Fuller saved the life of a woman attending court, providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when she collapsed.

A man who stockpiled explosive substances in his home in Kingston was jailed for three-and-a-half years in April. Later that month we successfully prosecuted a driving instructor who stalked and harassed his pupil.

In May, an ex-boyfriend who stabbed his former partner after she refused to reconcile was jailed for two years and six months, following a successful prosecution by the Crown Court team.

A man who sexually assaulted two women and carried out random hammer attacks on pub-goers and pedestrians was jailed for 13 years. 

In June, Tower Hamlets FC player Ayokunle Odedoyin was convicted of hurling homophobic abuse at an opponent in an FA Cup match the previous year. He was convicted of using threatening, abusive or insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Bexley Magistrates’ Court.

Also in June, the Crown Court team achieved a notable success, with the sentencing of a stalker, who created a ‘rape list’ with the names of 191 potential victims, to two years and eight months imprisonment.

Finally in June, we had the distressing case of domestic abuse that led to the offender being sentenced to 19 years. 

In July, a woman was detained under the Mental Health Act, following prosecution, having stalked David Beckham and his wife Victoria.

Later that month the London South RASSO team secured the successful prosecution of a rapist, who was caught after his DNA from a robbery was linked back to a rape two years before, and was jailed for 16-and-a-half years. 

In August, an inmate who threw boiling water at a prison officer and another inmate at Wandsworth Prison was given an eight-year sentence. 

In September, we witnessed the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The London South team was heavily involved in the wider delivery of Operation London Bridge, and the arrangements put in place for the period of mourning. Prosecutors were also on hand to process the small number of crimes that took place relating to the period of mourning.

In October, this included a man who pleaded guilty to sexual assault by touching two women in the queue to see the Queen's coffin as she was laying-in-state.

In November, a 61-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 19 years, for the killing of a man in 1980.

And later that month, two men were jailed for minimum sentences of 13 and 14 years following a brutal attack on teenager, James Bascoe-Smith.

Finally, two Just Stop Oil protesters were found guilty of causing criminal damage to the frame of a Vincent Van Gogh painting, causing around £2,000 worth of damage. One was sentenced to three weeks' imprisonment while the other received a suspended sentence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

To round off the year, in December, we successfully appealed the sentence of a man convicted of child cruelty. 

But in addition to a number of successful prosecutions, CPS staff in London South were involved in a range of other activities during the year.

In February, CPS London South partnered with the Kingston Race and Equalities Council to put on a five-a-side football tournament with the Met Police and local schools. Introduced by the Mayor of Kingston, the event included eight teams and offered a great opportunity to foster better relationships with young people in the community.

In the spring, prosecutors Anita Arora and Olive Essien delivered 'enrichment classes' to 20 students at St Mary's University. This was a full day work experience programme including a CJS/CPS knowledge quiz; how CPS prosecutors apply the code of crown prosecutors, and the pair inspired students with their own personal journeys into the CPS.

During the summer, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor David Malone, launched the Charter Initiative (the Charter Schools Education Trust CPS Work Experience Programme). We took 10 students from a south London state school onto a week-long work experience placement with us, including visits to Petty France (CPS Headquarters), Inner London Crown Court and Bromley Magistrates’ Court.