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.
Latest news
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.
Working with the media
To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives created a joint protocol (agreement) for working together. We are currently working on an updated version of the protocol.
A 65-year-old man who stabbed another man outside a shop has been convicted.Luciano Marenghi stabbed the victim repeatedly after a dispute outside of the Co-op store in Pewsey, Wiltshire, on 4 September 2023.Marenghi denied intending to cause grievous bodily harm, instead claiming he acted in self…
An army officer who used fake social media accounts to send explicit images to women serving on a military base in Aldershot has been sentenced.Glen Easterbrook, 38, repeatedly sent inappropriate sexual messages, voice notes, photos and videos under a pseudonym on Facebook and Snapchat to two women…
Prosecutors from CPS Wessex routinely secure successful outcomes in a variety of hate crime cases across the magistrates’ and Crown Courts in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire.Under hate crime legislation, courts must pass an increased sentence where the prosecutor has…
A veterinarian who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in a savage attack has been jailed.Alberto Fioletti, 31, fatally stabbed Stephanie Hodgkinson, 34, seven times when she decided to end their relationship, before going on to stab himself.Fioletti, of Fordingbridge, pleaded guilty to manslaughter…
A fraudster who tricked eBay users into bidding for a walking stick purporting to belong to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been sentenced.Just one week after the late Queen died in September 2022, Dru Marshall, 26 and now of Romsey, claimed to be a Senior Footman at Windsor Castle when he…
Two teenage boys who murdered a man in an unprovoked machete attack near a Swindon play park have been sentenced.Tyler Hunt, 18, and a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named, killed 18-year-old Owen Dunn with single stab wound in broad daylight on 4 December 2022.Both defendants denied murder, instead…
A rapist who preyed on young girls in the 1980s has finally been brought to justice.Paul Cole, 70, has been jailed for 24 years after raping and sexually abusing two girls while they were aged between 11 and 16.Justice was delivered after both victims, who were unknown to each other, separately…
A violent man has been convicted of murder after brutally stabbing another man to death just yards away from his father.
Armed with a large kitchen knife, Cameron Wayne Baker, 28, attacked Thomas Barton, 30, in Ryde on the Isle of Wight in the early hours of 28 May 2023 after a personal dispute…
We regularly share examples of recently prosecuted hate cases, where defendants have been convicted of a hate crime and received an increased sentence at one of our Wessex courts.
Hate crime is a priority in Wessex; we’re working closely with local communities to help them understand what a hate…
A man who sexually assaulted a 93-year-old woman with dementia while employed to deliver hot meals to elderly and vulnerable people has been jailed.
Frank Greco, 59, of Leighton Avenue in Swindon, repeatedly assaulted the elderly woman in her own home between late March and mid-April 2022.
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Press ReleaseSexual offencesCPSWessex
Press Office contact details
Please note that our Press Office is NOT able to deal with issues or queries from members of the public - these contact details are for accredited journalists ONLY. Do not call this number unless you a member of the press. For all general enquiries, please visit contact.cps.gov.uk.
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).
For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 3357 0906 to reach the duty press officer.
If you follow us on social media, you can expect posts covering some or all of the following:
Operational updates on decisions to prosecute or take no further action;
Reactions and statements on trial outcomes;
Policy updates from the Director of Public Prosecutions and other prosecutors;
Updates on media appearances by CPS staff
Content that explains the role of the CPS and how we work
Highlighting of relevant work by our criminal justice partners and other stakeholders
We will aim to be fair and accurate in all the information we publish. We will aim to correct any inaccuracies as soon as possible.
We are unable to monitor social media round the clock. We are not able to engage with all those who seek a response from us due to resources but also due to privacy and the sensitive nature of some of our work. The best way to contact the CPS is through our website.
Please do not try to report crime using social media. To report crime, please call 101 or visit your local police station. In an emergency, always call 999.
If you follow us on social media we will not automatically follow you back. Being followed by us does not imply endorsement of any kind.
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.
