'Despicable' Peterborough fiancé beat partner, 18, and killed her hamster after Xbox row
A teenager who told his fiancée he would 'kill everything she loves' before slaughtering her pet hamster has been sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders' institution.
Max Roberts, 18, of Eastfield Road, Peterborough, tried to strangle his 18-year-old partner before kicking and beating her and smashing up her furniture.
The attack began at 1.30pm on 25 November last year when the victim was playing Xbox, with Roberts next to her on the bed.
He elbowed her in the face before grabbing her by the neck with both hands, gripping her so tightly it restricted her breathing.
The assault continued as Roberts punched and kicked his victim, leaving her covered in blood with a broken nose.
The court heard he killed one of her pet hamsters and kicked the cage of the other so violently it shattered.
He told the victim he was killing everything she loved, before leaving the property with a warning he would "be back to finish her off".
Roberts was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court after admitting intentional strangulation, criminal damage to property, failing to prevent the causing of unnecessary suffering to an animal and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
He was also issued with a restraining order not to contact the victim and not to visit any address where she may be staying or visiting.
Det Con Joshua Crown said: 'Roberts behaved despicably, aiming to inflict the most emotional pain possible by killing the victim's hamster.
'To show this level of violence at such a young age is concerning, but I hope Roberts will reflect on his actions during his sentence and never behave this way again.'
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North Wales Live
10 hours ago
- North Wales Live
The latest North Wales police officers who have left the force in disgrace
Violent abusers and peverts are among the latest police officers, across Wales, who have been kicked off the force. Through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to all of the four police forces in Wales, WalesOnline has obtained details of most police misconduct cases from the last two years. The list includes a PC caught working other jobs while signed off sick, a sergeant who remained in post despite a criminal conviction for smashing a child's phone in rage, and a paedophile jailed for a decade, reports WalesOnline. In North Wales four officers have recently left the force for reasons including showing bodycam footage of a dead man off-duty and making "offensive comments" The North Wales Police Officers PC Matthew Roberts showed bodycam footage of a dead man to his colleague PCSO Manon Roberts (who was also his girlfriend) while off duty. A misconduct panel heard he also showed her videos of himself arresting people and found parts of the footage "amusing". Roberts even sent PCSO Roberts pictures of the baby of a woman he had arrested. The panel concluded he would have been sacked had he not quit. PCs Terrence Flanagan and Kenneth Iwan Williams attended a domestic incident and made "cruel, shocking and offensive comments" about a victim of domestic abuse. Their "misogynistic" and "sexualised" comments about the woman - and also about police colleagues - were caught because PC Flanagan had left his bodycam on. The chief constable found they both would have been fired had they not resigned. PC Owain Lewis threw a tray of food at his ex-girlfriend (a fellow PC) after finding her in "a state of undress" with one of their colleagues. He also smashed his ex's phone and got into a fight with the male colleague. A misconduct panel heard PC Lewis and the woman had split up after an eight-year relationship but they still shared a home in Buckley, Flintshire, where the scuffle broke out in a spare bedroom. The panel ordered PC Lewis be dismissed for gross misconduct. In the cases of two other North Wales Police officers, PC Daniel Jones and PC Vincent Jones, misconduct allegations were found not proved. WalesOnline said it made the FOI requests to find out how many officers' names were protected by anonymity orders - an issue which has recently led to it successfully challenging an order not to name a disgraced former Dyfed-Powys Police officer and reporting on a troubling restriction from South Wales Police on naming a corrupt ex-officer. In their FOI responses both Dyfed-Powys Police and South Wales Police initially withheld all names, citing a need to protect personal data. WalesOnline appealed - and at one point reported South Wales Police to a data watchdog because it was not responding - then both forces overturned their decisions, although some names continue to be withheld. The Gwent Police officers While off-duty, PC Joseph Cook punched a man he had spotted leaving a Cardiff nightclub with his former partner. Cook had been drinking on a night out when he saw the pair exit a St Mary Street club and walk past him. He pushed the man to the ground and punched him, causing cuts and bruises, before other police officers intervened. The chef constable found Cook would have been sacked had he not resigned. PC Benjamin French sexually assaulted a colleague while off-duty at a party, lifting her skirt and grabbing her bottom. He later claimed he could not "really remember" it but accepted the victim's account. The chief constable concluded he would have been fired had he not quit. PC Nathan Collings isolated his partners from their families and friends and monitored their social media. He used a tracking app to monitor the movements of one partner and used a "pet cam" to spy on her at home. After the relationship ended he stalked her by going into her house when she was out, and watching the property from a van. He was not only barred from policing but jailed for two and a half years after admitting stalking, controlling and coercive behaviour, and threatening to disclose private sexual photos. PC Jack Bannister sexually assaulted a fellow officer while on a night out in Cardiff. Twice he inappropriately touched the woman's buttocks as well as making inappropriate comments. The chief constable found Bannister's actions amounted to gross misconduct and that he would have been sacked had he not quit already. PC Huw Orphan broke his wife's back by kicking her down a flight of stairs during an argument. A Cardiff Crown Court jury found him guilty of grievous bodily harm against his police officer wife Amy Burley, who was left with frequent pain and mobility issues. He was jailed for two and a half years and the assistant chief constable barred him from policing. Wannabe firearms officer PC Avron Roulstone used vile homophobic language about a colleague, calling her "that f***ing d**e" and then asking other officers: "Are you going to report me?" The misconduct panel heard he "devised a campaign" against the more junior colleague – a gay woman – and even "fist-bumped" a member of the public who had hurled homophobic abuse at her. He would have been sacked had he not quit. DC Mark Peploe inappropriately touched a colleague on a Christmas night out. The chief constable described his behaviour as "totally unacceptable" and said he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he not already resigned. PC Paolo Goharjouy committed gross conduct by contacting sex workers to obtain their services. He sent 57 texts and had 629 contacts in his phone who were known or strongly suspected to be sex workers. The assistant chief constable said he would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. PC John Stringer was sacked by the assistant chief constable after he was found guilty by a Cardiff Crown Court jury of two counts of sexual assault by touching, two of inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one of causing a child to watch a sexual act. The abuse came to light after the victim confided in a teaching assistant at school. Stringer was jailed for 10 years. PC Gediminas Palubinskas committed gross misconduct by failing to submit a business interest while suspended from duty for unrelated matters. He also "submitted evidential material purporting to be another person whilst suspended from duty". The chief constable said he would have been sacked had he not quit. Another Gwent Police officer was kept anonymous in their hearing. The force said the officer - who was barred from policing for interfering with an investigation and inappropriate sexualised communications with a colleague - was granted anonymity by the chief constable on "medical grounds" and "health concerns of the former officer". Six other Gwent Police officers kicked out for misconduct were named when their hearings took place but the force refused to tell us their names in its Freedom of Information response because more than three months had passed since their cases and the force had concerns about triggering "painful memories" for victims. These cases included cocaine use, domestic violence and excessive force against a detainee. The Dyfed-Powys Police officers PC Christopher Sanders was caught working other jobs while signed off sick from the force. He earned £450 from a care home where he fitted a floor and did odd jobs. He also made £770 tiling and painting for other clients during his months on sick leave. Last December the chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not quit. PC Martyn Stephens behaved in an "inappropriate manner" towards two colleagues on the evening of April 30 last year. In January a misconduct panel found he would have been sacked had he not resigned already. Carmarthenshire PC Christian Stobbs quit the force while under investigation for computer misuse offences, which he admitted when he accepted a caution. He had used police systems, including "mapping technology", to monitor a person with no policing justification. The chief constable found he would have been dismissed had he not resigned. PC Gareth Horton exchanged homophobic, transphobic, racist and sexist messages with another officer. He claimed he was "trying to fit in" when he sent the WhatsApp messages to an officer from Merseyside Police, where Horton was serving at the time. He replied to "inappropriate" messages with "crying laughing" emojis and sent messages which had "homophobic and violent overtones", according to a misconduct panel who dismissed him in March. Ceredigion PC Simon Williams admitted sexually touching a woman in an Aberaeron pub without her consent while he was off-duty. He received a conditional caution and sent a letter of apology to the victim. The chief constable found he would have been sacked had he not already retired. Supt Gary Davies committed gross misconduct by touching female staff members without permission and comparing women to sports cars. The 58-year-old from Bridgend, who was nicknamed "the octopus", excluded female staff from meetings and had an "obvious corrosive effect" on colleagues, according to a misconduct panel who ordered he be dismissed. One Dyfed-Powys officer, PC Nicholas Jenkins, was given a final written warning for gross misconduct but we do not know the details of his behaviour because the force refused to provide us with the notice that was served against him, citing the need to protect "third-party personal data". Another officer, PC Lawrence Rew, was found not to have committed misconduct. Two Dyfed-Powys officers' names were withheld because of anonymity orders imposed by their misconduct panels. Both were found to have committed gross misconduct, but one was let off with a final written warning while the other was barred from policing. The force told us anonymity was granted because of "safety concerns in respect of the officer" in one case and "restrictions imposed by a separate court process" in the other case. The South Wales Police officers PC Jamie Davies started a relationship with a woman he had met on dating app Hinge and quickly embarked on a campaign of jealous and controlling behaviour which made her life hell. After pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour he was handed a suspended prison sentence, 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation and a 10-year restraining order. The chief constable dismissed him from the force. PC Katie White failed to report her boyfriend's law-breaking until they broke up. She was in a relationship with a man from late 2022 until September 2023, then within days of the breakup she called police. She claimed her ex had been driving without insurance since January that year and had been driving under the influence of cannabis while his children were in the vehicle. The assistant chief constable said White ignored her duty to report criminal activity earlier, and added she would have been fired had she not quit. A misconduct panel found PC Darren Whatley acted in a "predatory" manner and caused "emotional harm" to three colleagues. He exposed his genitals to one woman, asked another to have sex with him in his car and told a third he would "gas" her. He would have been dismissed had he not retired. Off-duty Special Constable Joshua Edwards breached standards of professional behaviour involving authority, respect and courtesy with his behaviour towards an ex-partner. He would have been dismissed by the misconduct panel had he not quit. PC Spencer Crane was off duty and socialising in Cardiff's Caroline Street and the Hayes when he got into a scuffle with DC Jack Harris and an unnamed female colleague. The misconduct panel heard he grabbed the female PC "to the neck", causing her to fall to the ground, as well as "lunging" at DC Harris and fighting him on the floor. The panel found Crane was the aggressor and that he would have been sacked had he not quit. Sergeant Matthew O'Sullivan was found guilty at Newport Magistrates' Court of criminal damage but he was allowed to keep his policing job. The offence involved him smashing the mobile of a 15-year-old boy who had made hoax 999 calls with friends. The chief constable spared O'Sullivan dismissal and instead imposed a five-year final written warning. He took into account that the sergeant was "frustrated at the massive waste of police resource", and was sorry for acting "foolishly in the heat of the moment". Off-duty PC Salman Malik was driving a Tesla from Cardiff to Leicester when he was stopped by two Leicestershire Police officers. He told them the car was his sister's but that he had temporary insurance to drive it, which was false. Malik was sacked by the chief constable after being sentenced at Loughborough Magistrates' Court to a £430 fine and six penalty points for driving without insurance. Sergeant Rhodri Davies, a former boxer, was sacked by a misconduct panel after punching a man detained in a cell at Swansea Central police station. The victim, Tariq Evans, was handcuffed when he was swung to the floor and then struck by Mr Davies, who also used a "dangerous" restraint on his neck, according to the panel, who described his actions as "deplorable". Three South Wales Police officers who faced misconduct proceedings have been kept anonymous. One, known as Officer F, was recently barred from policing after he admitted the criminal offence of illegally accessing computer material. The corrupt officer repeatedly accessed the force system and leaked information to five members of the public. This is a serious offence, punishable with up to two years in prison, but Officer F was let off with a caution. The force didn't respond when asked why he wasn't charged. We know his name and his rank, but the force's chief constable Jeremy Vaughan continues to block us from telling you because of concerns for "the health and wellbeing of a child". You can read our piece on why this flies in the face of legal precedent and principles of transparency here. The other two officers were anonymised because of concerns for their safety. One was a PC sacked for gross misconduct. In the case of the second officer, a sergeant, misconduct was not proved. 'A mystery without any rationale' Former police and crime commissioner for North Wales, Arfon Jones, spoke to WalesOnline last month about the importance of transparency after becoming concerned by the anonymity orders protecting Officer F and, initially, Justin Ellerton. "Why legally qualified chairs of misconduct panels and senior police officers grant anonymity to accused officers is often a mystery without any rationale, and it seems increasingly to be the norm rather than an exception," said Mr Jones, who had a long career as a police officer. "It is particularly worrying that accused officers are avoiding criminal charges in an open court and instead quietly being sacked and remaining anonymous," he added. "It is in the public interest that officers who have committed serious criminal offences are tried in an open court the same as any other citizen. Anything else will be perceived to be a cover-up." Gwent Police asked WalesOnline to include a statement from its deputy chief constable Nicola Brain on the force's pledge to dismiss officers who "betray the trust and confidence of our communities". She said: "Our starting position is to hold all proceedings in public session, allowing us to be open and transparent with regards to the police misconduct process. But there are occasions when expert advice dictates, whether from medical professionals or ongoing criminal investigations, that some details will be heard in private session or with reporting restrictions. "It is important that we also consider the impact of a public hearing on those who bravely speak out about misconduct before a determination is made."
Edinburgh Reporter
10-06-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
Calls for the government to address demand for prostitution
The MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, Tracy Gilbert today led a parliamentary debate on Tuesday in Westminster Hall calling for urgent government action to address the demand driving prostitution and sex trafficking in the UK. Ms Gilbert said that the debate, 'That this House has considered the matter of tackling demand for prostitution and sex trafficking', focused on the urgent need to adopt a demand-reduction approach to tackle the exploitation of women and girls who are coerced, trafficked, or driven by poverty into the sex trade. Her speech highlighted the issue in Edinburgh, and some of the vulnerable women who have been affected by it, including Fiona Broadfoot who has spoken out about her treatment whilst working in an Edinburgh brothel. Tracy Gilbert said: 'In Edinburgh over the weekend (7 –8 June 2025), 142 women were being advertised for prostitution on one pimping website alone. Five of the top ten adverts are explicitly posted by so-called 'agencies' – so the site isn't even trying to hide the organised nature of this exploitation.' She outlined that current legislation fails to effectively deter those who purchase sex and called on the Government to explore legislative models that criminalise the buying, not the selling, of sex, as adopted in countries such as Sweden and Norway, and she gave examples of reviews made after the buying of sex including the following: 'Bad attitude. Everything was off limits.' 'Finally got her to lay there but it's like shagging a dead fish.' 'No smile, her atrocious English made the interactions even more impossible.' Tracy added: 'Men who buy sex are reviewing women as if they are reviewing an Xbox game. These comments prove that men who pay for sex treat women as subordinate sex objects whose role is to service their sexual desires.' Watch the debate online here: Like this: Like Related
Daily Record
10-06-2025
- Daily Record
Claims male MSPs paid a prostitute for sex raised by Scots MP in Westminster
Labour MP Tracy Gilbert raised the Daily Record's bombshell front page about a former prostitute claiming current MSPs bought sex from her when she sold her body for money. Claims male MSPs paid a prostitute for sex have been raised by a Scottish MP in Westminster. Labour MP Tracy Gilbert raised the Daily Record's bombshell front page about a former prostitute claiming current MSPs bought sex from her when she sold her body for money. The Edinburgh North and Leith MP said during a Westminster Hall debate: "Shockingly but not surprisingly, it was revealed last month that multiple members of the Scottish Parliament have paid for sex. We can only predict that members or former members of this House have too." Alba MSP Ash Regan told us last month the woman who was a former prostitute came forward to her after recognising her former male clients on TV. The revelation came as Regan launched a Bill to clampdown on people who pay for sex. Labour MP Gilbert called for the UK Government to consider criminalising the buying - but not the selling - of sex. In her Westminster Hall debate, Gilbert said the move would reduce the demand driving prostitution and sex trafficking. Some activities related to prostitution are currently illegal while sex buyers can fall foul of kerb crawling laws. Criminalisation of the buying of sex has been adopted in countries such as Sweden and Norway. In her speech, Gilbert gave examples of reviews made after the buying of sex. One said: 'Bad attitude. Everything was off limits.' Another said: 'Finally got her to lay there but it's like s******g a dead fish.' A third added: 'No smile, her atrocious English made the interactions even more impossible.' Gilbert added: 'Men who buy sex are reviewing women as if they are reviewing an Xbox game. These comments prove that men who pay for sex treat women as subordinate sex objects whose role is to service their sexual desires.' She said current legislation fails to effectively deter those who purchase sex: ' In one UK study, for instance, researchers asked over 1200 sex buyers, 'Would you change your behaviour if a law was introduced that made it a crime to pay for sex?' "Over half said they would 'definitely', 'probably' or 'possibly' change their behaviour. "While sex buyers are driven by male sexual entitlement, ultimately, they do it because they can. "Because the law isn't just failing to stop these men, it is making it easy.' She added: "It's time to bring demand into the full glare of the law – and stop sex buyers perpetrating this industrialised form of violence against women.'
