1. Criminals jailed dueing hearings held at Sheffield Crown Court in June 2023
All of the six defendants pictured here have been sentenced to jail time during hearings held at Sheffield Crown Court in June 2023.
Top row, left to right: Amanda Hallows; Joshua Deere and Daniel Carr
Bottom row, left to right: James Hackett; Nathan Green and Jason Bennett Photo: South Yorkshire Police
2. Joshua Deere: 11 years' jail time for thug who shouted "kill her" as he broke into a woman's home and attacked her
Joshua Deere attacked his victim with a knife, smashed pint glasses over her head and threw kitchen appliances at her during the “horrendous and a terrifying ordeal”.
The 24-year-old, of Borrowdale Close, Doncaster, was jailed for 11 years when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court charged with a string of offences including aggravated burglary.
With two other women, he smashed a window to break into a home on St Peter's Avenue on November 5, 2021, and attacked the woman living there.
Standing at the bottom of the stairs with a knife, Deere lunged towards his victim and cut her left arm. After beating her at the top of the stairs, Deere’s victim fell to the bottom and attempted to flee her attackers.
While in the kitchen of the property Deere continued to attack the woman – smashing pint glasses over her head, throwing kitchen appliances at her, and causing deep wounds to her hands with a knife.
Deere and his associates were eventually disturbed and fled the scene. Photo: South Yorkshire Police
3. Daniel Carr: Six years in prison for blackmailer who forced girls and women to send explicit pictures and perform sex acts
Daniel Carr, aged 27, met his victims, who were aged between 15 and 25, via social networking sites between 2020 and 2022.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how in April 2022, Carr hacked the Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok accounts of a 17-year-old boy and used those accounts to message a number of girls and women requesting they send him explicit images.
After it was reported to police, officers investigated and discovered a series of shocking blackmail incidents Carr was responsible for.
On several occasions between 2020 and 2022, Carr hacked social media accounts and threatened those they belonged to. He demanded they hand over cash, send explicit images or perform sexual acts on camera, otherwise he would leak explicit images he had of them to family and friends.
In one instance, he forced a 15-year-old girl to perform sexual acts on camera after he struck up a fake online relationship with her using a hacked social media account.
He was remanded into custody and was sentenced to six years in prison on Friday, June 16, 2023. He has also been handed a sexual harm prevention order preventing him from committing further online sexual offences, and has been placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period. Photo: South Yorkshire Police
4. Amanda Hallows: 14 years behind bars for callous robber who beat 94-year-old Sheffield victim in own home
Amanda Hallows purposefully targeted a property in Burngreave where her victim, who has since died, lived alone, a court heard. After forcing her way into the OAP’s home, she attacked the resident with a wooden chair – which knocked them unconscious.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how on May 24, 2022, at around 11am, the victim heard a loud knock. It was Hallows, who asked for some water.
When they brought Hallows some water in a bottle, she said she wanted a glass instead and became aggressive, forcing the door open.
She pushed the victim back by grabbing their shoulder and their eye. The pensioner fell to the floor and Hallows grabbed a wooden chair and hit the victim over the head where they lay, threatening to “finish” them if they moved. The victim then lost consciousness.
When they regained consciousness, their house had been ransacked and they called out for help. The attack left them with a cut to the forehead that needed hospital treatment.
Hallows, aged 37, of Tithe Barn Way, Woodhouse, Sheffield, was later identified and charged with robbery. She admitted the charges and on Thursday, June 15 was sentenced to 14 years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court.
South Yorkshire Police said the sentencing was particularly poignant as the victim recently sadly died. Photo: South Yorkshire Police