SEXUAL OFFENDERS dominated the list of criminals sentenced at Worcester Crown Court last month.
A court case is often passed from the magistrates’ court to the Crown Court if the magistrates decide the offence is too serious and requires a longer sentence than the 12-month maximum they can hand out.
Here are some of the longest sentences handed to those jailed at Worcester Crown Court in August:
Luke Simon
(Image: West Mercia Police)
Serial abuser Luke Simon was sentenced to 27 years behind bars for repeatedly sexually abusing five young girls.
The 42-year-old, of Edgworth Close, Redditch, was found guilty of two counts of rape of a child under 13, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, and 19 counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.
Witness impact statements from some of the girls were read out to the court, which described the devastating impacts his actions had on the girls.
Judge Martin Jackson said Simon had tried to ‘blame some of the girl for sexualised behaviour’ when in reality he was a ‘serial abuser’.
READ MORE: Child sex offender jailed for 27 years at Worcester
Martin Cowley
(Image: West Mercia Police)
70-year-old Cowley ‘took everything away’ from a young teenage girl when he indecently assaulted her over two years in the 1990s.
Cowley, of Checketts Close, Pinvin, was jailed for 11 years and nine months after he was found guilty of 14 counts of indecent assault against a girl under 16.
The victim, who is now in her 40s, told Worcester Crown Court that no prison sentence could ever reflect what he had put her through when she was younger.
Recorder Williams noted in his sentencing remarks that Cowley had failed to express any remorse for his actions and continued to deny the offences after being convicted.
READ MORE: Martin Cowley jailed for campaign of sexual abuse against teenage girl
David Cruz
READ MORE: Worcester man David Cruz jailed for sexually abusing multiple children
22-year-old Cruz was labelled ‘dangerous’ by judge Martin Jackson as he sentenced him to nine years in prison for a series of sexual offences committed between
Cruz, of Lichfield Road, Worcester, was still a child when he committed his first offences, but committed offences between February 2019 and January 2023.
In a victim impact statement read out to court, one of Cruz’s victims shared how his abuse had destroyed her mental health and ability to be left alone with another man, even those she trusts.