Locked up in Sussex: These are some of the criminals jailed in October
By John Holden
Published 4th Nov 2020, 12:34 BST
Updated 4th Nov 2020, 12:43 BST
As Sussex prepares to enter lockdown for the second time, these criminals have already spent the last few weeks locked up.
Some brutal murderers, a paedophile scout leader and hapless burglars were all jailed in our county during October and at the very end of September. All information on the cases comes from either Sussex Police or our reporters attending court in person.
5. Harry Avis, Brighiton
Unemployed Harry Avis, of Swanborough Drive in Brighton, was jailed for three years and four months for a knife-point robbery in Brighton. The 22-year-old pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article after a man was robbed in Norwich Crescent, Brighton, at around 3.30pm on September 30. Officers quickly located Avis' vehicle at a retail park in Hove and he was arrested the same afternoon with a large knife and items stolen during the robbery. He was jailed at Lewes Crown Court on October 13. Photo: Sussex Police
6. Jack Chambers, East Grinstead
Jack Chambers, of Holtye Avenue in East Grinstead, was jailed for his part in a 'terrifying ordeal' involving an air rifle. The 19-year-old took part in a robbery on Sunday, April 26, in Lewes Road where suspects on a motorbike pulled up alongside their victim at around 12.30am. They threatened him with a long-barrelled weapon, thought to be an air rifle, and demanded he hand over his belongings. Chambers was arrested soon after on suspicion of robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence and, at Lewes Crown Court, pleaded guilty to both. On September 29, he was jailed for three years. Investigator Lauren Chapman said: "This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim who was walking home from work when they were attacked and threatened with a weapon that resembled a gun. Thankfully Chambers was apprehended soon after the incident and put on remand. We're hugely grateful to the local community who came together to provide information that assisted with our investigation." Photo: Sussex Police
7. Oliver Cooper, Staffordshire/Horsham
Former Horsham scout leader Oliver Cooper, 27, was sentenced to six years in prison for offences of voyeurism and sexual assault involving young children at scouting camps he helped to run. Cooper, a student formerly of Kings Drive in Hopton, Staffordshire, was found guilty at Lewes Crown Court on October 15 of two counts of sexual assault on a girl aged six, one counts of sexual assault on a girl also aged six, one count of taking indecent photographs of a child, and 13 counts of voyeurism. He will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life, was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to last until further court notice severely restricting his access to children, and was disqualified from working with children and vulnerable people for life. The investigation was launched after a child disclosed Cooper had sexually touched her, after which he was arrested and indecent images and videos of children getting undressed in private were found on his phone and laptop. A further child came forward during the investigati Photo: Sussex Police
8. Morakile Kosi, Bexhill
Thirty-three-year-old Morakile Kosi, of Barn Field Terrace in Bexhill, was jailed for more than five and a half years for a sexual offence against a teenage girl in Crawley. On September 28, Kosi pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a girl aged 14 and was sentenced to 67 months in prison. He will also be a registered sex offender for life and was given a sexual harm prevention order severely restricting his access to girls under 16 until further court order. Detective Constable Helen Rainbow said Kosi came to know the 'vulnerable' young girl and 'deliberately arranged a situation in which she was at his mercy, purely for his own gratification'. She praised the 'strength and maturity' of the victim in coming forward. Photo: Sussex Police