Overview
- Durham Crown Court closed for seven working days in December for drainage and pipework repairs, transferred cases to Teesside, then completed its 2025 list on December 23.
- Taranvir Galsinh received 11 years and three months for 12 sexual offences against two girls, with two-thirds to be served before release consideration, lifetime sex-offender registration, and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
- Judge Nathan Adams jailed Lewis Nugent for nine sexual offences with a six-year custodial term plus four years’ extended licence, classing him a dangerous offender and imposing lifetime registration and a 15‑year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
- Other Durham rulings included 18 months for banned driver Lee Hedge who injured a police officer, a mandatory three-year term for third‑strike burglar Peter Harrison, and suspended sentences after an attempted ATM grab and assaults.
- Across York and North Yorkshire, a year‑in‑review logged life terms and long sentences for offences including murder, fraud and smuggling, notably a life sentence for Mohammed Farooq for plotting attacks including at RAF Menwith Hill.