Connect with us

Published

on

Former Premier League player Joey Barton, who was accused of pushing his wife Georgia to the floor before kicking her in a drunken row at their home, has been cleared of assault.

Barton, who is now manager of League One side Bristol Rovers, was acquitted after a judge said he could not get a fair trial because prosecutors would not call Mrs Barton to give evidence.

Barton, 40, had denied assault by beating, while prosecutors claimed his wife “would not be a credible witness”.

Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court heard that the 36-year-old woman was “audibly upset and shaken” when she dialled 999 on 2 June last year after allegedly suffering a bleeding nose and a golf-ball sized bruise on her forehead.

The trial heard she told the operator “my husband has just hit me in the house”, informing them she had a “bloody nose” after Barton hit her “just in the face”, before police arrived at the property in Kew, southwest London within 25 minutes.

Footage from a police body-worn camera captured Mrs Barton saying “I was pushed and kicked about and stuff”, the court was shown.

The officer noted “a bit of a lump and some blood”, while Mrs Barton, speaking to a female officer in a utility room five minutes later, said her husband “just flipped out” and “threw me down”.

More from UK

She said “he was kicking me about”, and while holding an ice pack to her head, added the alleged attack came “out of the blue”.

“I just want him to be removed from the premises,” she said.

Joey Barton is the manager of Bristol Rovers
Image:
Barton is the manager of Bristol Rovers

Mrs Barton declined to make a written witness statement but ahead of the expected trial in March she wrote to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Couple ‘drank four or five bottles of wine each’

The court previously heard Mrs Barton had written a letter to prosecutors, claiming she and her husband had been drinking “about four or five bottles of wine each” with two other couples.

She said she wasn’t sure what she said to officers was totally accurate and claimed her injury was caused accidentally when friends intervened in the row.

According to prosecutors, the account was a bid to “exculpate” her husband and they chose not to interview her or call her to give evidence.

CPS had options to compel Mrs Barton to give evidence – judge

Prosecutor Daniel O’Donoghue said: “The prosecution maintain she would not be a credible witness and has put forward an exculpatory account in order to assist Mr Barton and undermine the comments made on the evening, which we say are very clear on the video.”

However, District Judge Andrew Sweet said the CPS had options to compel Mrs Barton to give evidence or treat her as a hostile witness.

He said: “I am satisfied the position adopted by the Crown not to take a statement or call Mrs Barton is at odds with the case law. I am satisfied Mr Barton would be unable to achieve a fair trial in these circumstances and the proceedings are stayed.”

A CPS spokeswoman said: “We are considering the judge’s comments and we will review our position.”

Continue Reading

UK

Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

Published

on

By

Child dies and another injured after car driven on to sports pitch

A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria.

Police say they were called at 4.58pm to reports of a collision involving a BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club on Shap Road, in Kendal.

Cumbria Police say one child died, while the second is being treated by paramedics.

A man aged in his 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

A spokesperson for Cumbria Police said: “Specialist investigators are at the scene and the area has been cordoned off as initial investigation enquiries take place.”

The force said the incident was not believed to be terror-related. Immediate family members of both children have been informed, it added.

In a post on its Facebook page, the club said it was “deeply saddened to confirm that an incident occurred today at Kendal Rugby Club.”

The post, attributed to club chairman Dr Stephen Green, continued: “Our thoughts are with their family and friends and we kindly ask for privacy for all involved at this difficult time.”

The club and its facilities are now temporarily closed while it cooperates “fully” with authorities, it added.

More from Sky News:
Serial rapist jailed for 15 years
Gardener wins court case over £1m prize

Tim Farron MP, whose constituency includes Kendal, posted on X: “This is devastating, utterly heartbreaking news. I’m praying for the children and for their families and friends.

“Our community in Kendal is stunned and in mourning.”

Continue Reading

UK

PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

Published

on

By

PhD student guilty of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China

A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.

Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.

Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences

He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.

Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Moment police arrest student guilty of rape

The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.

He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** The trial heard Zou kept a 'lost property box' full of women's belongings. Pic: Met Police
Image:
The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police

The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.

Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.

Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.

***ONLY USE IF HE IS CONVICTED OF AT LEAST TWO RAPES*** A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Image:
A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police

Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.

The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.

“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.

“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.

“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”

Continue Reading

UK

James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who ‘fought for Ukraine’ jailed for 19 years in Russia

Published

on

By

James Scott Rhys Anderson: British man who 'fought for Ukraine' jailed for 19 years in Russia

A British man has been jailed for 19 years after a Russian court found him guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the country’s Kursk region.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, had been charged with terrorist and mercenary offences and was found guilty after a closed trial.

The court said he was to serve the first five years of his sentence in prison and the remainder in a penal colony.

In the trial, a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was questioned as a witness.

Ukrainian troops broke across the border into Kursk region on 6 August last year.

They still hold some territory there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian forces to force them out.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing into Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed unspecified “criminal acts against civilians”.

Russian state media published video showing him being led in handcuffs and locked in a cage of the kind where defendants in Russian court cases are placed.

Read more:
Ukraine war latest: ‘US stops sharing intelligence’
‘Long-range drone strikes weakening Russia’s combat ability’

It apparently showed Anderson saying he had served in the British army from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign legion of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Early on in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said more than 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine’s aid.

Since then, the number of foreign fighters in Ukraine’s military has been classified.

Continue Reading

Trending