A man who sent large amounts of money to paedophiles in the Philippines and encouraged them to sexually abuse children has been jailed for 26 years.

Patrick Lee Howlett, 58, of Canterbury, sent money from himself and others to abusers overseas to mistreat young children, including members of their own family, and capture images of the abuse. He was found to be in possession of thousands of illegal images.

Howlett, was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in her sleep and committing a sexual offence against her afterwards. 

Ernesta Juska, 21, entered the pleas at a hearing today (Friday 18 July) at Maidstone Crown Court, following the death of Nina Denisova in August 2024 at an address in Dartford. 

Juska stabbed Nina, who was a friend of the family, repeatedly while she was sleeping. Juska later told police that he decided to kill someone, but claimed he did not know why. 

A man who raped and controlled five women over a four-year period has been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment, extended by a further five years. 

George De Bathe, 25, cut the victims off from their family and friends, controlling them in different ways, including taking over their phones and social media, dictating what they wore and ate and who they saw. He would threaten to kill himself and even controlled their sleep, demanding that they constantly replied to his messages throughout the night. 

• About CPS data
• Introduction
• All crime, pre-charge and prosecutions
• Rape flagged
• Adult rape flagged
• Domestic abuse flagged
• Hate crime flagged
• Casework quality
• Court Caseloads
• Regional Data
• Understanding CPS Data
• Data spreadsheets

About CPS data

The CPS does