On this page we deal with those untouchables, the very people who are appointed to uphold justice – The judges and magistrates

They demand our respect, but do they deserve it?  

Disgraced child abuse images judge walks free

Former Crown Court judge David Selwood, of Winchester who admitted a string of child abuse images offences, has been given a 12 month rehabilitation order. He was charged after police found 75 images of naked and semi-naked boys aged between eight and 14 on his laptop computer.

Magistrate, 55, invited young girl to have sex with him

A MAGISTRATE in Gloucestershire left a 14-year-old girl frightened and shocked after he invited her to have sex in his car, a crown court heard. In the end the girl panicked and ran away from David Jones, 55, said prosecutor Jennifer Josephs. He was ordered to be under the supervision of the probation service for three years and to attend a community sex offenders programme

Ex-JP jailed for sex abuse

An ex-magistrate who over 36 years sexually abused five boys was yesterday jailed for eight years. Retired teacher Harold Tope (64) admitted a string of sex attacks on the boys who were aged as young as eight. 

Ex magistrate internet pervert is jailed for two years

A former magistrate caught in a covert police operation set up to trap internet perverts has been jailed for two years. Ian Knight, who was also a schools inspector, lied about his age as he chatted to young girls, encouraged them to send him indecent photographs and engage in sexual activity over a webcam.

Paedophile magistrate jailed for 4 yrs for abusing boys

A FORMER Surrey magistrate and Boys’ Brigade leader who pretended to be a pillar of the community while abusing young boys has been jailed. Married David Lyn Jenkins, 70, now of Bevendean Crescent, Brighton, abused his positions of authority around the Redhill and Reigate area to get close to his young victims.

Ex-JP spared jail over child abuse images

A former magistrate who downloaded hundreds of child abuse pictures from the internet has been spared a jail sentence. Neil Morgan, 58, who was also awarded an MBE for his charity work, was given a 75-hour community punishment order 

Former Bath magistrate jailed for child abuse images offences

A former Bath magistrate who exchanged indecent images of young boys over the internet has been jailed for ten months. Retired civil servant Andrew Hill sent hundreds of pictures of children, some as young as two years old, to other people he had met in online chat groups. And as well as sending the sickening images, the 61-year-old also took part in “grotesque” conversations outlining what he would like to do to the youngsters in the pictures

Convicted paedophile JP jailed

A magistrate from Croydon known as “The Zoo Man” who trawled the internet for images of children being sexually abused was today jailed for nine months. Zoologist Terry Mills, 58, spent his days visiting primary schools showing children exotic reptiles and his evenings building up a library of child pornography.

JP jailed over child abuse cases

A magistrate who abused three teenage boys has been jailed for three years. Gerald Sidney, of Lockleaze, Bristol, abused the youngsters he met through his role as a Sea Cadets officer. He was found guilty after a jury heard he had indecently assaulted one boy under the age of 16 and two older males between 1980 and 1997

Former councillor/Magistrate jailed for sex abuse

Alan Prescott, 62, who was described at the Old Bailey as a “pillar of his local community”, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting indecently assaulting four boys in his care between 1970 and 1980 while he was superintendent of a Tower Hamlets children’s home.

Ex-JP’s child abuse images shame

A FORMER magistrate has been jailed for six months for downloading indecent/abusive images of children from the internet. Frederick Keith Stott, 48, admitted making indecent pictures on a computer which he kept locked in his garden shed.

A former Midland magistrate who sexually abused two young children has been jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court. 

David Garwood (65), of Highcliffe Road, Tamworth, Staffordshire, who admitted four charges of indecent assault, was also told he would be put on the sex offenders register for ten years. 

Ex-magistrate is jailed over abusive images of children

A magistrate has gone to prison for downloading child abuse images. Geoffrey Botley admitted 12 offences of making indecent photos between October 2001 and December 2004. The 52-year-old was jailed at North Avon Magistrates’ Court for six months and ordered to register as a sex offender for seven years.

Bristol church pastor admits sexually abusing boy, 14

James Hennah, aged 39, was also a magistrate before being suspended when the allegations came to light in October. He admitted two offences of sexually touching a child and one of voyeurism

Ex-magistrate admits filming naked children

Magistrate who met the Queen guilty of killing two-year-old scalded under a power shower

Rashpal Chana, 49, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years while the child’s mother, Eva, received six years for manslaughter for the same crime. A jury was told Kristiana suffered 10 per cent burns from water that may have been as hot as 58c. The burns were left untreated for so long her damaged skin died and began to decay. Kristiana died shortly after she was admitted to hospital, ten to 14 days after the scalding occurred

Magistrate jailed for indecent images of children

A former business partner of England rugby player Rory Underwood has been jailed for possessing indecent pictures of children. Martyn Helliwell, 49, was found guilty of 16 counts of making and distributing the images. The former naval officer and magistrate was also placed on the sex offenders register and given a sexual offences prevention order

Judge cautioned for sex act in public toilets

A Welsh judge cautioned by police for alleged gross indecency has been severely reprimanded by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine. In a letter to district judge Richard Hoffman, the Lord Chancellor warned him any repetition would be likely to lead to his dismissal. Judge Hoffman was arrested with another man in public toilets

Magistrate jailed for indecently assaulting boys

Magistrate Basil Eliston was jailed for five years by St. Albans Crown Court charged with nine offences of indecently assaulting boys. Eliston was also Headmaster of a North London School. It was heard that he often persuaded boys to play fantasy games involving nude canings, bondage and ice cold baths. It was stated that he hoped ‘gift’ payments to the boys would ensure secrecy, and it was said he paid over £300 for this. He was tailed by Police and finally caught with one 15yr-old boy in his car at Whippendale Woods, Watford. Police raided his home and found pornographic magazines of boys along with a school cane and various ropes for bondage.

Judge shamed in ‘rentboy’ allegations bids to work as barrister

Circuit Judge Gerald Price QC is being investigated after he let his male escort Christopher Williams 25 sit on the bench and have access to three courts as ‘ a law student’.  The 60 year-old Judge a father of two is accused of exposing his office to possible blackmail threats and bringing the court into disrepute.  His nine month affair with the rent boy was discovered by officials who doubted the presence of the so called law  student. The Judge normally attended Swansea Crown Court.

‘ The drive & drive judge ‘

Chief circuit Judge Victor Hall was given a serious warning from the Lord Chancellor after the £91,000 a year Judge was caught drink/driving by police when they stopped his car in Leicester.  Magistrates fined him £1,000 and disqualified him from driving.  He was jeered at by people outside the court as he left, and is said to have offered to retire, but was suspended on full pay instead. He later kept his job as a judge !

‘ JUDGE SWINDLES THE ELDERLY OUT OF £85,000 ‘

JUDGE RICHARD GREEN was jailed for three years at Lewes Crown Court after it was known that while he was a solicitor, he took £85,000 from clients’ investment funds.  He did this while he was a partner in the Law Firm of Barwell’s in Seaford.  The thefts committed were on elderly people around 80 to 90, he had complete control over their money, and spent it on cars, luxury holidays and a yacht. 

‘ JUDGE RUNS AWAY FROM SCENE OF ACCIDENT ‘

JUDGE VISCOUNT COLVILLE landed into trouble when he collided into two cars in Belgravia.  It was heard that the Judge – also a circuit Judge in Maidstone, Kent — went into the back of a diplomat’s car which in turn hit a taxi.  The Taxi driver said ‘ he knew full well heid been in an accident with both of us, but ran off down the road with me chasing him.  I took the registration number of his vehicle and gave it to the police. When interviewed by the police, the Judge claimed he had not hit either car but scraped a bollard.  He appeared before Horseferry Road Court and was fined £500 and given five penalty points on his driving licence.

‘ SENIOR JUDGE RESIGNS OVER MISCONDUCT AT TRIAL ‘

JUDGE FRANK CHAPMAN, presiding over a trial in the Birmingham Crown Court passed on information during the hearing to the Prosecutor Barrister Simon Davis that could help the failing prosecution case which was already costing the public purse more than £50,000.  The message was on his voice mail, and as a result the trial was aborted.  The Judge’s forty year legal career collapsed in an instant and he quickly made the decision to retire instead of face complaints lodged.

‘NO CAR TAX JUDGE IS NOT CHARGED ‘

The Somerset Police stopped a vehicle in Bristol while on a ‘ crackdown on illegal cars and road tax dodgers’ and found it belonged to a Judge.  Detective Sergeant Bond said ‘ you wouldn’t expect a Judge to check the licence disc would you? not on his Daimler.’ After the stop check, they gave the Judge a police escort??

‘ DRINK-DRIVE JUDGE RESIGNS AFTER SECOND OFFENCE ‘

JUDGE BRUCE MACMILLAN who presided over cases in the Liverpool Crown Court  was arrested after being stopped twice by traffic cops in the same month.  He was observed driving erratically on the M6 by the motorway patrol.  He was first stopped in 2008 in August and then for a second time on September the 30th 2009 and was awaiting a court hearing concerning drink driving.  The Judge decided to resign rather than be ordered to stand down.

‘ JUDGE DISREGARDS LAW ‘

JUDGE HUMFREY MALINS was caught parking his car in a ‘disabled drivers only’ bay 50 yards away from the court in Isleworth.  The Tory Judge who presides at the Crown Court actually said he parked in the bay rather a lot .  Lorna Reith of Disability Alliance commented ‘ it is digraceful that this judge can flout the law in taking space reserved for someone disabled.’

‘ DRINK/DRIVE JUDGE JAILED AFTER CRASH ‘

DISTRICT JUDGE ANGUS MACARTHUR was jailed for 28 days and banned from driving for ten years.  It was the third drink/driving offence of this judge, past offences resulted in being drunk in charge of a car when he was fined £300, and another offence when he was fined £3000 and banned from driving for two years.  Macarthur was a judge in Nottingham, Northampton and Leicester.  At the time of this offence he was a circuit judge for Peterborough.  Besides jail he was fined £2,000 and had to pay £100 costs. The case was heard at Peterborough Magistrates Court.

‘ CROWN COURT JUDGE HAS JAIL TERM CUT OVER DRINKING OFFENCE ‘

JUDGE JOHN REEDER of Essex had his jail sentence of five months cut to two months on appeal it was stated.  The judge who was five times over the drink/drive limit was put into solitary confinement for his own safety it is said.  He crashed his Range Rover into another car and caused injury to the occupants.

‘ DRINK/DRIVE DEPUTY JUDGE IS BANNED FROM DRIVING ‘

JUDGE MICHAEL PARKER was fined £400 and disqualified from driving for twelve months by London Magistrates.  He was twice the legal limit when he was stopped by officers who arrested him at the scene.

‘ JUDGE IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACCUSATIONS ‘

A COURT USHER RECEIVED COMPENSATION OF £15,000 after claiming she had been sexually harassed by JUDGE ANURA COORAY. Judge Cooray was accused of asking Maxine Coombes to show him her breasts and give him a rub down.  The judge retired on the grounds of ill health.

‘ SMUGGLING JUDGE IS DISMISSED ‘

THE ONLY JUDGE TO BE SACKED UNTIL 2009 WAS JUDGE BRUCE CAMPBELL.  The judge admitted to charges of smuggling whisky and cigarettes into Britain. 

‘ DRINK/DRIVE JUDGE DEMOLISHES A WALL ‘

COUNTY COURT JUDGE LINDA LAZONBY was caught for the second time over drink/driving after her car smashed into a wall after a drinking session.  Police said she was over three times the legal limit when they breathalysed her. She walked away from the court with two years probation, banned from driving but no fine was imposed?

‘ JUDGE BANNED FOR 3 YEARS ‘

DISTRICT JUDGE DAVID MESSENGER was banned from practising law for three years when it was found that the Scarborough Judge misused client money improperly at his law firm Messengers. It was given in evidence that he used the money for his own purposes after financial irregularities were found by investigators. He was also found guilty of being intoxicated too, he was ordered to pay £15,000 costs.

‘ JUDGE APPEARS BEFORE COURT FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR ‘

JUDGE MICHAEL WOOD has stood down after a female legal advisor accused the District Judge who presides in County Durham, of unacceptable sexual behaviour towards her. 

‘ BOY FOUND IN MAGISTRATE’S HOTEL ROOM ‘

PHILIP HOWARTH J.P. and Public Schoolmaster, was arrested in a hotel room in Thailand whilst on holiday.  Police were raiding places where they knew ‘sex tourists’ went.  The Wolverhampton Magistrates J.P. denied having sex with the boy.  He appeared before a court in Choburi charged with procuring a 14 year-old boy for sex and having indecent photos.

‘ BENEFIT CHEAT MAGISTRATE IS JAILED ‘

J.P. JOHN MEIGHAN was jailed for fifteen months after being found guilty of defrauding the Benefits Agency of £45,000 over a period of five years.  He was convicted in Exeter Crown Court and pleaded guilty to making false claims while he was a sitting magistrate.  Judge Graham Cottle said ‘ You knew what you were doing was dishonest and chose to disregard your position as a serving magistrate on the bench.’

‘ MAGISTRATE ALTERED CAR TO AVOID SPEEDING FINE ‘

MICHAEL RODGER J.P. consulted an internet site that told him how to avoid a charge by altering the vehicle’s appearance. In a bid to save his wife from a fine, he went to extraordinary lengths to change the Skoda and told colleagues the car had been cloned by another person using a similar car. It all failed however, when the police recognised his wife and children. The fine would have been £60 and three points, but it all ended up with him and his wife being charged with perverting the course of justice. They were sentenced to 300 hours of community service and costs of £5,000. The Judge said they were lucky not being given a custodial sentence.

‘ ROAD RAGE MAGISTRATE LANDS IN COURT ‘

MAGISTRATE THOMAS ROGERS a Gloucester J.P. and Director of Bath College, flew into a rage when his car almost collided with a car belonging to Julie Richards. Rogers stopped his car in the middle of the carriageway blocking Julie Richards and got out and stood shouting at her. She took down the number of his sports car and police followed it up. Cheltenham Magistrates found him guilty of using threatening behaviour and fined him £500 with £120 costs.

‘MAGISTRATE FACES JAIL OVER SEX ATTACK ON BOYS ‘

PORTSMOUTH MAGISTRATE HAROLD TOPE faced jail for a string of sex assaults on boys going over many years from 1960. At the Crown Court he pleaded guilty to 11 indecent assaults, three charges of serious sexual assaults on young boys. Altogether he pleaded guilty to 16 charges involving five boys.

‘ MAGISTRATE STEALS £664,000 FROM PENSION FUND ‘

SUREYA SADIQ J.P. took £664,000 in a pension fund scam after inventing eighteen retired workers. For nearly two years she was able to sign most of the pension cheques herself. The bogus names were supposed to have joined the council — therefore entitled to a lump sum and regular payments. She was a magistrate with the London’s South Western Magistrates Court. Judge Peter fingret said she was in gross breach of trust and sentenced her to 2 years in prison.

‘ DANGEROUS DRIVING MAGISTRATE FINED ‘

PHYLLIS WINN-JONES J.P. found herself in the dock after driving the wrong way in traffic by driving into traffic on the wrong side of a dual carriageway. She forced two cars to swerve off the road in fear of their lives. She was stopped and charged with careless driving at Cardiff Crown Court. She was fined £550 and disqualified from driving for six months.

‘ PORN MAGISTRATE RESIGNS ‘

WEST MIDLANDS MAGISTRATE DAVID WARD resigned from his post at the Sutton Coldfield Magistrates Court after a videotape showing DIY porn fell into the hands of a child. Police were called when after Ward videoed children on an outing he gave it to one of the parents little realising he’d forgotten to change tapes.

‘ MAGISTRATE IN CREDIT CARD FRAUD ‘

JP. ANTHONY HARLEY of Grays in Essex was ordered to do 80 hours of community work and repay £850 he fraudulently obtained by using someone else’s credit card. The bench required Mr. Harley to tender his immediate resignation. He was sacked from his job with Ford Motors where the offence was committed.

‘ MAGISTRATE SHAMED BY ILLEGAL EVICTION TACTICS ‘

MAGISTRATE STEPHANIE LIPPIATT, a JP for twenty years appeared before Croydon Crown Court on charges of criminal damage and illegal eviction. She and friend, Victor Hawes smashed up furniture belonging to tenant, Maria Percec and threw it into the street. The J.P. who owns eight properties in the South London area was fined £2,000 for the illegal eviction and £250 for criminal damage. She was ordered to pay costs and she was suspended from her duties on the bench at Kingston Magistrates Court.

‘ Magistrate who spanks boys resigns from bench ‘

Magistrate Charles Guttman resigned after it was discovered he posted adverts offering discipline to students.  The JP who once held a position at Dulwich College Preparatory School in South London often sat while juvenile cases were being heard.  Guttman offered academic training, and preferred boys to be in shorts and vest.  They were put through P.E. had cold showers and given the slipper or cane throughout the evening or afternoon.  Boys booked in and went to his flat for lessons in Belsize Park near Hampstead, London.

Judge sacked for being ‘rude and petulant’

District Judge Margaret Short was removed for behaviour that was “inappropriate, petulant and rude” with regards to one incident, according to the Office for Judicial Complaints, and “intemperate and ill-judged with regard to another”. A statement from the OJS read: “Her removal follows a history of complaints about her misconduct in court, primarily about the way in which she behaved towards solicitors appearing before her, but including a variety of other inappropriate behaviour.”

Magistrate judge sacked for falling asleep in court

A magistrate judge who fell asleep during a trial last year has been relieved of his position following an investigation by the Office for Judicial Complaints. The trial of a 17-year-old youth accused of assault, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had to be abandoned after the defendant’s mother noticed John Harrison dozing at the bench. ‘I was not asleep but I rested my eyes for five minutes or so,’ Mr Harrison said. ‘It was just a normal reaction in the middle of the afternoon. The court was warm — the heating was on and the sun was pouring in through the window. ‘I was still listening to the defence solicitor speaking to the defendant and I was able to take down some notes related to what was said. But an investigation found otherwise. It said Mr Harrison, who had been a magistrate since 1997, “risked bringing the magistracy into disrepute”.

Judge Beatrice Bolton could face sacking

A leading judge at the centre of a dangerous dog neighbour dispute was last night under investigation by senior Government figures. The Lord Chief Justice and the Lord Chancellor are considering the future of Judge Beatrice Bolton after she was convicted of failing to control her German Shepherd and fined £2,500. Judge Bolton, of Rothbury, Northumberland, swore and stormed out of court after a District Judge returned the guilty verdict

Judge resigns after losing appeal over prostitute investigation

A senior judge, who was suspended after an investigation was launched into his private life, resigned today.The Office for Judicial Complaints (OJC) inquiry into Judge Gerald Price QC was launched following allegations made in the News of the World about his conduct with a male prostitute.The inquiry recommended the judge be sacked but Price resigned after a failed appeal and before the disciplinary process was formally concluded.

Drink drive charge judge resigns

A Crown Court judge charged with drink driving resigned today after being arrested for the second time. His Honour Bruce Macmillan, 63, was held in Toxteth, Liverpool, on Thursday last week for allegedly being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.

Judge quits after causing collapse of rape trial by phoning prosecution barrister to pass on advice

A senior judge has resigned after causing the collapse of a rape trial he was presiding over by phoning the prosecution barrister to pass on advice. judge Frank Chapman, the Recorder of Birmingham, advised barrister Simon Davis to seek a medical witness to help prove his case. Mr Davis notified the 50-year-old defendant’s barrister and it is understood both lawyers approached the judge about his conduct. Judge Chapman admitted his mistake before swiftly falling on his sword, bringing a 40-year legal career to an ignominious end.

A Baptist church minister was jailed for eight years for sexually abusing two boys in the United States.

He had previously admitted four counts of sexually molesting the two young sons of family friends over a period of several years. 

He sexually abused the boys between 1995 and 1999, from the ages of seven and eight. A former magistrate in the county, Dando was understood to have been a member of the Oxfordshire Family Panel, which deals with child care and access proceedings