Other defendants jailed during 2026 - and included in our latest Sheffield Crown Court round-up - include those convicted of offence such as assisting an offender, perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
Some of the offenders acknowledged their crimes with guilty pleas; others denied their crimes and were convicted after trials.
The shortest sentence passed down was one of two years and six months, whilst the longest was a life sentence, with a minimum term of 33 years to be spent behind bars before parole can be considered.
5. Demi Dunford, Osai Williams, Alex Taff and Andrew Horton: Drug gang jailed for 118 years for murdering rival in city shooting
Four people - Demi Dunford, Osai Williams, Alex Taff and Andrew Horton - were found guilty of the murder of Abdullah Hassan in a fatal shooting in Sheffield in 2023. The mastermind behind the killing, Demi Dunford, aged 29, was jailed for a minimum of 31 years over Abdullah Hassan’s death, after being found guilty of murder following a trial. She organised the “cold blooded, targeted shooting and murder,” jurors were told by prosecutor Stephen Wood KC, when the case was opened at Sheffield Crown Court last year. Abdullah, 25, was shot in an incident on Callow Drive, Gleadless Valley, in the early hours of April 9, 2023. He was lured out of his flat in the dead of night and figures lying in wait “emerged from the shadows” and gunned him down. Abdullah had received a call from someone pretending to want to buy drugs from him. Dunford, of Derby Street, Heeley, organised the hit and recruited Alex Taff, 31, Osai Williams, 29 and Andrew Horton, 47, to help her execute the plan. They were all sentenced in January 2026 on the basis that although only one person pulled the trigger, they were all involved. Osai Williams, 29, was found guilty of murder, grievous bodily harm, two counts of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply, possession of controlled dugs and possession of an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to 32 years. Demi Dunford, 29, was found guilty of murder, two counts of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply, possession of controlled drugs and possession of a prohibited weapon. She was sentenced to 31 years. Andrew Horton, 47, was found guilty of murder, two counts of robbery, theft from person, fraud and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to 28 years. Alex Taff, 31, was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 27 years. | SYP
6. Lewis Clarke: Rapist jailed for 20 years
Lewis Clarke aged 31, of Doncaster, was jailed for two decades on January 27, 2026 for multiple offences, including four counts of rape and intentional strangulation. He appeared at Sheffield Crown Court to discover his fate after pleading guilty to the offences during a hearing there in July, last year. In addition to being jailed, Clarke was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order. Speaking in court during the sentencing hearing, Clarke’s victim said: “There are no words to fully describe the horror of what happened to me.” She described his offending as “calculated and cruel” and “evil” and said she lives with it every day. The brave victim said: “I was so terrified that I believed I would not survive.” She also revealed how she had “begged” for her life during the abuse. | SYP
7. Paul Dowsing: Serial rapist jailed for 16 years
Paul Dowsing, aged 61, continuously raped his victim over a three-year period in South Yorkshire Dowsing, now of Clowne, Derbyshire, denied all charges, but thanks to the bravery of the young girl and a jury who saw through his deception, Dowsing was found guilty on January 16, 2026. On January 30, 2026 sentenced to 16 years in prison, a restraining order handed a 20-year sexual harm prevention order. | SYP
8. Charlotte Winstanley: Jailed for two-and-a-half years
A disgraced prisoner officer who held “Monday date nights” with her jailed boyfriend and “prayed to have his babies” has been jailed. The judge who sentenced the prison guard said it was “the worst corruption case” he had ever seen. Charlotte Winstanley, of Coronation Road, Doncaster, threw herself into a sexual relationship with gang member Jabhari Blair, 30, who is serving a 12-year sentence at HMP Lindholme for wounding, robbery and possessing firearms. But the 27-year-old prison officer - who was 22 when she began her job - seemingly saw the best in Blair, supplying him a mobile phone so she could swap messages about their next illicit meet up inside. Prison officer Charlotte Winstanley, 27, threw herself into a sexual relationship with HMP Lindholme inmate Jabhari Blair, supplying him a smuggle phone and texting how she "prayed" she would "have his babies." Prison officer Charlotte Winstanley, 27, threw herself into a sexual relationship with HMP Lindholme inmate Jabhari Blair, supplying him a smuggle phone and texting how she "prayed" she would "have his babies." | SYP She also smuggled him cannabis, disappeared into private offices with him while on duty, warned him about upcoming searches of his cell, and shared details about other inmates’ health conditions. “This is an exceptionally serious case of corruption,” said The Recorder of Sheffield His Honour Judge Jeremy Richardson KC at the pair’s sentencing on February 2, 2026. “Regrettably, I have dealt with several cases of women prison officers having intimate relationships in prison - by some considerable margin, this is by far the worst.” A packed public gallery made up of Winstanley’s friends and family observed the sentencing hearing as the prison officer, who appeared in a maroon tracksuit, quietly sobbed as details of her offending were read out. Winstanley was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, with Judge Richardson remarking: “I’m very conscious that prison for you as a former prison officer will fall very hard on you.” | SYP