24 of the longest sentences handed out at Sheffield Crown Court for some of the region's most wicked crimes
All of the criminals pictured here were sentenced to decades behind bars during hearings at Sheffield Crown Court, after being convicted of some of the most heinous crimes South Yorkshire has ever seen.
Among the crimes which led to these 24 defendants serving time at His Majesty’s pleasure are gangland murders; killing three members of the same family and some of the most despicable and systematic child abuse ever committed in Britain.
Two of the defendants pictured here will die behind bars, after being handed whole-life sentences.
The rest have received sentences of between 19 and and 37 years, with those serving the shortest sentences included on the list due to the combined total length with their criminal co-accused.
All 24 are all currently behind bars.
Some of the defendants admitted their crimes, while others were found guilty following a jury trial.
All of the information included here was correct at the time of publication in March 2024.
Two of the defendants pictured here will die behind bars, after being handed whole-life sentences.
13. Ronald Sekanjako: Minimum of 27 years behind bars for Sheffield murderer
A Sheffield delivery driver has been jailed for life for the murder of a manager after hearing he was being suspended from his job. Sheffield Crown Court was told 49-year-old Ronald Sekanjako flew into a rage after being told he was under investigation and attacked Rotherham FedEx manager Philip David Woodcock when he came to try and help calm the situation. Mr Woodcock had been looking forward to retirement, said his devastated family. During a hearing held in November 2023, Sekanjako, of Bellhouse Road, Firth Park, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 27 years for murder, and a further nine months for assault. The sentences will run concurrently.
14. Jermaine Richards: Life imprisonment with a minimum of 28 years behind bars
Jermaine Richards, aged 31, of Wordsworth Drive, Parson Cross, Sheffield, was given two opportunities to attend Sheffield Crown Court to be sentenced for the murder of David Ford, and serious assault upon Mr Ford’s son, Ryan, but declined to attend on both occasions. The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, adjourned Richards’ first sentencing hearing and urged him to ‘reflect,’ adjourning the passing of sentence until Monday, April 24, 2023. He sentenced him to life imprisonment, to serve a minumum of 26 years behind bars. Richards had sought to deny his guilt, but jurors found him guilty of Mr Ford’s murder, The court was told how in the moments before the fatal incident, David and Ryan Ford had met up to go on one of their regular fishing trips, and encountered Richards who was attempting to flee after causing £2,400 worth of damage to the security desk at Castle Hill Flats in the Hyde Park area of the city, before going on to damage a BMW vehicle in the car park of the complex. It was after the heroic father and son attempted to prevent Richards from making his escape that Richards subjected Ryan Ford to a beating, before stealing David Ford's Kia vehicle and initially driving away. “The defendant then deliberately drove the car at David Ford aiming for him whilst he was on the pavement in the vicinity of the electricity box. I have no doubt whatsoever that the defendant took aim at David Ford. The CCTV plainly reveals this,” Judge Richardson said, as he summarised the facts of the case.
15. Sam Chetty: 25-year sentence for 'manipulative and predatory' paedophile
A ‘manipulative and predatory’ Sheffield paedophile sexually abused a boy who was just six-years-old when it began, after befriending his mother on social media and disarming those around his young victim through a grooming campaign. Callous Sam Chetty remained silent as he was sent to prison during an emotionally-charged Sheffield Crown Court hearing on November 9, 2023. Judge Rachael Harrison told Chetty: “This was a campaign of rape and sexual abuse for a period of more than a year, on a boy who was aged six and seven.” The court was told how Chetty, aged 30, befriended the mother of the boy he abused on social media, and soon became friends with other family members. Judge Harrison detailed how Chetty became a family friend who was entrusted to babysit the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and began taking him to ‘entertainment venues’. “You spent money on [the boy] and his family,” Judge Harrison said. She added: “I’m satisfied this was grooming behaviour against [the boy], both in terms of giving him attention and spending money on him. I’m satisfied you deliberately isolated him, taking him to different locations, including your flat.” Judge Harrison jailed Chetty for 21 years, and said she considered it ‘necessary’ to impose an extended sentence of four years due to the risk of danger he poses to the public, bringing his total sentence to 25 years. She told Chetty he will be required to serve two-thirds of his sentence behind bars, and will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Murderer Arthur Hutchinson, who killed three members of a Sheffield family, will spend the rest of his life locked up. He broke into a home in Dore in October 1983 and fatally stabbed husband and wife Basil and Avril Laitner and their son Richard. Just hours earlier the family had hosted a wedding celebration. The judge in his original trial ruled that he should serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars but then-home secretary Leon Brittan later imposed a whole life order.