Update: Sexual Assault Liberal Democrat Councillor Avoids Prison

Former Liberal Democrat councillor Thom Campion has avoided prison after sexually assaulting a woman he lured into his bedroom with a teddy bear.

Campion, 28, of Warkworth Woods, Great Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, denied sexual assault, but was convicted following a recent trial at Newcastle Magistrates' Court.

He was sentenced by District Judge Paul Currer at the same court on Friday, 17th July 2026.

Given the amount of traffic my original article has received, this story is clearly of some interest to people in the north east of England.

The details of the offence were reported earlier. Briefly, the complainant was present at Campion's suburban home when he enticed her upstairs to the bedroom on the pretext of showing her a "cute teddy".

Once in the bedroom the arrogant young upstart pinned the woman to the bed, felt her breasts and pushed his fingers into her mouth, all the while muttering sordid sexual comments in her direction.

The offence was committed in March 2023, when Campion was a member of Newcastle City Council.

The complainant accused Campion of "cowardice", saying that his denials represented a "lack of remorse and inability to take responsibility" for his actions.

Neil Douglas, mitigating, said that his client was of previously good character and could be safely managed in the community.

DJ Currer, sentencing, told the 28-year-old he had "behaved selfishly", saying he was focused on "his own sexual gratification" and had ignored the woman's clear distress and refusal to engage.

The Judge was of the view that Campion's crime was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, in line with the requirements of the Sentencing Act 2026, DJ Currer elected to suspend the custodial term.

Campion was sentenced to 11-months' custody, suspended for 12 months, with the requirement that he undertakes 150 hours' unpaid work and up to 10 days' rehabilitation activity.

He was also ordered to pay £187 surcharge and £650 in prosecution costs.

Campion was also made subject to a restraining order, which prohibits him from all contact with the complainant for the next 2 years.

Given the nature of his conviction, he will be subject to the notification requirements of the sex offenders register for the next 10 years.

This conviction should also signal the end of any lofty political ambition Campion may have held, so it is possible he might decide to appeal it.

Isle of Wight Man Avoids Prison After Pushing Cyclist Off Seawall

An idiotic Isle of Wight man has avoided immediate custody after pushing a cyclist over the side of a seawall because he "thought it would be funny".

Daniel Dickons, 39, of Avenue Road, Sandown, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared at Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 16th April 2026.

I tweeted about this case at the time of the first hearing.

Man pushed woman in her 60s over Isle of Wight seawall: https://t.co/59tdx1SYWD You're going to struggle to comprehend the total idiocy of Daniel Dickons, 39, of Avenue Road, Sandown, who admitted ABH at IoW Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

— Magistrates' Blog (@MagistratesBlog) April 18, 2026

Dickons was sentenced by the same court on Tuesday, 30th June 2026.

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) is an offence under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. It has a maximum penalty of 52 weeks' custody on summary conviction; 5 years' custody on conviction on indictment.

At the first hearing Magistrates heard that Dickons assaulted the unsuspecting victim on Tuesday, 5th August 2025.

She was cycling along the seawall on Culver Parade, between Yaverland and Sandown, shortly before 3 pm that afternoon. The wall in question, which is shown at the head of this article, doubles as a walk and cycleway.

As she rode past Dickons he stuck his arm out and pushed her over the side of the seawall, causing her to fall a distance of 5 or 6 feet onto the sand below.

The woman's bicycle landed on top of her. As a result of Dickons' unprovoked assault she sustained several injuries, including a sizeable scar to her chin, a neck injury, a black eye, and an exposed kneecap.

When asked to account for his actions, Dickons replied he "thought it would be funny".

Oscar Vincent, mitigating, told the court that his client, who has six previous convictions, had been out of trouble for the previous thirteen years.

He added that Dickons was remorseful and made full and frank admissions to the police.

Magistrates were of the view that Dickons' crime was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, in line with the Sentencing Act 2026, they suspended the custodial term.

Dickons was sentenced to 52 weeks' custody suspended for 2 years, with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement and up to 35 days' rehabilitation activity.

He was also ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to the cyclist.

In the circumstances that was the most severe sentence that the court could have imposed. Immediate custody would have been entirely appropriate, had the current regime allowed it.

Absent Defendant Cleared After Botched Police Investigation

It's another one of these from the archives: Another "how did we even get this far?" situation.

The court recently proceeded with a trial in the absence of a defendant accused of possession of cocaine.

Possession of a controlled drug is an offence under section 5(2) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The maximum sentence in relation to a class A drug, such as cocaine, is 12 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction; 7 years' custody on conviction on indictment.

The defendant, who was clearly known to the police, had been sitting in the rear of a vehicle that had been stopped by officers in relation to other matters. The vehicle was being used for Uber private hire.

Officers recognised the rear seat passenger, who they considered to be acting in a rather furtive manner. They asked him to step out of the vehicle and conducted a quick search of the rear seating.

They found two wraps of cocaine tucked beneath the drivers' seat, directly infront of where the defendant had been seated a few moments earlier.

The man was arrested at the scene and denied any involvement with the drugs. He maintained that position when later interviewed at the police station.

These circumstances were outlined in the live evidence of the arresting officer.

In cross-examination the officer agreed that he had not seen the defendant secrete anything beneath the drivers' seat.

He also conceded that he had not taken a statement from the Uber driver, so had no way of knowing when the vehicle was last cleaned or how many passengers had been carried since then.

The officer also confirmed that no evidence had been obtained from the wraps that would link them to the defendant. That might sound surprising, but the court rarely hears anything about fingerprint or DNA evidence - expensive forensic techniques tend to be reserved for Crown Court matters.

Other than proximity and some sort of copper's hunch there was nothing to link the defendant to the wraps of cocaine.

Given the standard of evidence the bench had little difficulty in dismissing the matter.

That the officer failed to ask the Uber driver even the most rudimentary of questions is absolutely astonishing.

That the CPS reviewing lawyer considered it passed the evidential test, even more so.

Devon Neighbour Dispute Escalates into Bat Attack

A Devon woman has been convicted of assaulting her neighbour with a rounders bat.

Charlotte Taylor, 41, of Hillside Drive, Okehampton, admitted the following offences when she appeared recently at Exeter Magistrates' Court:

• Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, an offence under section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which has a maximum sentence of 12 months' custody on summary conviction; 5 years' custody on conviction on indictment;
• Possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, an offence under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, which has a maximum sentence of 12 months' custody on summary conviction; 4 years' custody on conviction on indictment;
• Common assault, an offence under section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, which has a maximum sentence of 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction.

Magistrates heard that matters between the neighbours came to ahead on the evening of Tuesday, 12th May 2026, when the complainant began taking photographs of rubbish piled outside Taylor's property.

The complainant shouted "you've got rats", which resulted in Taylor exiting the property with a rounders bat and striking her twice.

The complainant managed to record the incident on her mobile phone, before Taylor knocked the device out of her hand.

The court heard that the dispute had been ongoing for the last two years. The complainant has since been evicted by her housing association landlord.

Taylor's unnamed solicitor, mitigating, said that her children had previously faced abuse from the complainant. The situation had also been inflamed by the complainant turning up to Taylor's property on the evening in question.

The solicitor added that her client was remorseful, saying "She understands that this behaviour was wrong. This was the straw that broke the camel's back."

Magistrates were of the view that Taylor's crime was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, in line with recently changes to legislation, they elected to suspend the custodial term.

She was sentenced to 26 weeks' custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and 26 weeks' concurrent for possession of an offensive weapon. Both were suspended for a period of 12 months.

She was also ordered to pay £154 surcharge and £85 towards prosecution costs.

The court also considered it necessary and proportionate to make Taylor subject to a restraining order, although the details have not been reported.