Rapist window cleaner, paedophile vicar and Showcase Cinema gunman jailed

A rapist window cleaner, a paedophile priest and the Showcase Cinema gunman were among the Merseyside criminals who were jailed over the past week.

Also locked up was a man who formed part of a gang who kidnapped and brutally attacked two men, one of whom "barely survived". Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a pervert watched videos of children being raped because it was "a lift and a release".

Here are the faces of seven criminals from our region who were imprisoned over the last seven days:

READ MORE: Vicar who sexually abused boy was fined £500 and then promoted

READ MORE: The faces of those who disappeared without a trace

Michael Swann

A paedophile told the police that he watched videos of kids aged as young as three being raped because it was "a lift and a release".

Michael Swann downloaded thousands of indecent images over the course of around 15 years in order to feed his "insatiable, deviant and depraved interest in children". The three-time convicted sex offender also secretly filmed young girls naked and in their underwear.

Swann admitted taking indecent images, possession of indecent images, possession of prohibited images and three counts of making indecent images. He was jailed for five years.

Anthony Morrissey

A window cleaner showed a girl adult films on Pornhub then raped her.

Anthony Morrissey subjected the youngster to a catalogue of sexual abuse then told her to "keep everything secret". He shook his head as he was jailed for his sickening crimes.

Morrissey was found guilty of rape, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and causing a child to watch sexual activity by a jury following a trial. He stood shaking his head as he was handed 13 years behind bars plus an additional year on licence, then waved to his supporters in the public gallery as he was led down to the cells.

Egidijus Savickas

Four kidnappers armed with knives and baseball bats launched such a savage attack on two men that one "barely survived".

The gang travelled from different parts of the country to meet their victims in Staffordshire, having orchestrated a plan to abduct and assault the pair. They were then brutally beaten with bats and knives, tied up with duct tape and interrogated before being thrown into the boots of two separate cars.

Egidijus Savickas, from Bootle, was found guilty of offences including kidnapping and wounding with intent. The 28-year-old was jailed for 14 years.

Jamie Crawford

A shoplifter who started a fire in his prison cell bragged: "I'll pull the mental health card, so that will get me out of it."

Jamie Crawford, a serving prisoner at HMP Risley in Warrington, had been moved to a new wing within the prison due to drug use. He started the blaze having apparently been unhappy over this decision and was found by guards rubbing a liquid, believed to be shower gel, all over his body.

Crawford admitted arson. He was handed a further two years and seven months behind bars.

John Roberts

A paedophile vicar who "used God to hide the monster he is" could spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of sexual offences against a fifth victim.

John Roberts was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault following a trial, which heard that he "misused the power and authority of his position to carry out acts of sexual abuse" while serving as a priest at St Peter's Church in St Helens during the 1970s. The now 89-year-old attempted to grope the boy in the vicarage and during a trip away.

He was handed three years behind bars. This will be served consecutively to a nine-year sentence imposed upon him in 2020 for similar offending.

Leslie Garrett

Showcase Cinema gunman Leslie Garrett shouted "k***head" as he was jailed.

The 49-year-old, of Ternhall Road in Fazakerley, raided Sangha's newsagents in Norris Green in his flip flops and shot into a protective screen with an AK47 on the evening of January 3 this year. He then went for a drink in the pub before continuing onwards to the Showcase Cinema in Croxteth, where he had worked as a security guard before losing his job three months earlier for "being under the influence of alcohol", and firing further shots outside.

Garrett pleaded guilty to eight offences including possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, attempted robbery and possession of ammunition without a certificate. Appearing in the dock wearing a grey Nike jumper and with a cross on show around his neck, he was handed 14 years in prison plus an extended licence period of four years.

He gave a thumbs up to his supporters in the public gallery as he was led down the the cells and said: "See you later. It’ll be alright."

Garrett was also heard to shout "k***head" as he left the dock.

Craig Hill

A man who used Encrochat to sell cocaine and cannabis was caught after making references to his resemblance to a cartoon character on the encrypted communications platform.

Craig Hill was arrested at his home address, where police found a cannabis farm. He used the Encrochat handle "Lewdvine" to supply kilos of class A and B drugs.

Police were able to trace Hill as the man behind the account though a number of clues saved in his Encrochat device, including references to goggles and his resemblance to Penfold from Danger Mouse. Hill was jailed for seven years and eight months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply cannabis and production of cannabis.

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