CPS News Centre

Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.

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You can find our latest news stories here and search for older stories. You can also find more information about high-profile cases and the work of the CPS.

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To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives have created an agreement: the Media Protocol: Working together to support open justice.

Showing 1 - 10 of 60 results for area "Wessex"

Date format: mm/dd/yyyy
Date format: mm/dd/yyyy

Man jailed after befriending women on dating apps to sexually abuse children

A man who befriended women online to take part in sexual abuse against children has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.Elliot Jones, 49, of Norfolk, previously pleaded guilty to 21 offences including sexual activity with children.He also encouraged the women, from different parts of the country,…
Press Release Sexual offences Wessex

Man admits raping and drugging wife over 13-year period

Philip Young, 49, appeared at Winchester Crown Court and pleaded guilty to 48 serious sexual offences committed against his former wife.
Press Release Sexual offences CPS Wessex

Pair jailed after using cars to hunt, kill and injure victims

A woman and a man have today been jailed after a motorcyclist was killed and two others critically injured in separate incidents where vehicles were deliberately used as weapons during a long-running feud.
Press Release Violent crime CPS Wessex

Man jailed for stabbing man nine times in brazen street attack

A man has been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment after stabbing a man who was protecting his girlfriend after she was punched in the face in a street attack.
Press Release Violent crime Wessex

Six men charged with more than 60 sexual offences against woman over a 13-year period

This is a joint Wiltshire Police/CPS press release Six men have been charged with more than 60 sexual offences against one woman over a 13-year period.Philip Young, 49, formerly from Swindon but now living in Enfield, has been charged with 56 sexual offences, including multiple counts of…
Press Release Sexual offences CPS Wessex

Fraudulent funeral directors found guilty of denying families lawful burials

Families were denied the dignity of proper care for their deceased loved ones after two funeral directors stored bodies in unrefrigerated conditions.Richard Elkin, 49, and Hayley Bell, 42, were convicted today following the discovery in December 2023 of serious failings at their Gosport funeral…
Press Release CPS Wessex

Convicted rapist jailed for further attacks against women

A man who had previously been convicted of a sex attack has today been jailed for further attacks on three more women.Bruno Sala, 39, previously of Havant, Portsmouth, formed relationships with each of the women between 2019 to 2020, before setting them up to be raped and abused by himself and…
Press Release Sexual offences Violent crime Wessex

Rogue trader jailed for fraud scheme

A rogue trader has been jailed defrauding elderly homeowners out of thousands of pounds in Hampshire.Henry Smith, 36, of Southampton Road, Titchfield, turned up at the homes of two elderly men between October 2022 and February 2023 before entrapping them in his scam.On the first occasion, Smith…
Press Release Fraud and economic crime Wessex

Killer sentenced for murdering grandmother-in-law after she refused to give him money

A man has today been jailed for a minimum of 22 years following the murder of his wife’s 78-year-old grandmother, committed in a rage after she refused his demands for money.
Press Release Violent crime Wessex

New pledge to recognise patterns of domestic abuse as charges in CPS Wessex continue to increase

All prosecutors in the region will now work under the national strategy, developed after listening to victims’ experiences, and delivering justice through prosecutions which reflect the full reality of each case of abuse.
Press Release Domestic abuse Wessex

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If you are a national or international journalist with a media enquiry, you can contact the CPS Press Office on 020 3357 0906 or email [email protected] (9am-5pm weekdays only).

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Media protocol

To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.

Read the current protocol

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