JAILED THIS MONTH: Criminals given jail time by judges in December

John Whelan Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A child rapist from west Swindon has been jailed for 19 years.

Jailing John Whelan, Judge Jason Taylor QC told the 64-year-old: “Your grooming and manipulation was nothing more than a selfish and perverted desire to prioritise your sexual gratification over their welfare.”

He was found guilty of abusing two girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.

READ MORE: Toothill child rapist gets 19 years in jail

Knifeman rapist held family hostage

David Watts Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A rapist who held a family at knifepoint and said he wanted to go out in a “blaze of glory” has been jailed for 23 years.

Sentencing David Watts at Bristol Crown Court, Judge Martin Picton described the Wiltshire man as having been completely out of control.

He said: “The footage that the police captured of the arrest clearly demonstrates the level of terror which the defendant generated in the minds of the victims who must have feared that they would not get out of that house alive."

READ MORE: Child rapist who held family hostage is jailed for 23 years

Shoplifter took 12kg of protein powder

Craig Moores Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A shoplifter who stole 12kg of protein powder from Home Bargains then left staff fearing he’d “gut” them has been jailed.

Craig Moores, 29, was on bail at the time. Three months earlier, he’d been stopped behind the wheel of a green Rover while high on cocaine. A machete was found underneath the driver’s seat and a lock knife in the car’s centre console.

He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment.

READ MORE: Knifeman who stole 12kg of protein powder is jailed

M4 dangerous driver went on the run...for 8 months

A fugitive hid in the car park of a luxury hotel after making off from police down the M4 then ditching his Mercedes at Junction 16.

Elson Kastrati then failed to answer his bail at the crown court in March. He went on the run for eight months before being caught by police in London.

The 20-year-old was jailed for 13 months at Swindon Crown Court.

READ MORE: M4 dangerous driver went on the run for 8 months

Knifepoint robbers targeted cabbie

Jordan Collins, Mitchell Rhodes, Landen McCarthy Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

Three men who robbed a Swindon taxi driver at knifepoint were jailed for almost 16 years.

Sending Jordan Collins, Landen McCarthy and Mitchell Rhodes down at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday morning, Judge Jason Taylor QC said of the robbery: “It must have been terrifying for the victim.”

Rhodes, of no fixed address and appearing in court via video link from Bullingdon prison, was sentenced to seven years and one month’s imprisonment. Recent changes in the law mean that he must serve two thirds of his sentence behind bars.

McCarthy, of Westcliff-on-Sea, near Southend, who pleaded guilty on the day of his trial received five years and three months’ imprisonment.

Collins, of Clemence Street, Tower Hamlets, was jailed for three years and seven months.

READ MORE: Jail for gang that robbed Swindon taxi driver at knifepoint

'Say hello to meat cleaver Ted'

Jason Scarff Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A burglar produced a meat cleaver he named “Ted” in an effort to recoup a £20 debt from a teenager.

The 17-year-old boy was so terrified by thief Jason Scarff that he fled inside a neighbour’s flat. It was only later that he realised the Melksham man had gone into his unlocked apartment and taken a TV, cream dispenser and watch.

At the time of the raid, 31-year-old Scarff was on bail or under investigation for a non-dwelling burglary committed a year earlier – and subject to a 20 month suspended prison sentence imposed just months earlier for aggravated vehicle taking and dangerous driving.

The third-strike burglar was jailed for four years and three months at Swindon Crown Court on Friday after earlier admitting domestic burglary, possession of a bladed article, non-dwelling burglary and breaching his suspended sentence order.

READ MORE: Burglar threatens teen with meat cleaver he'd named 'Ted'

Cannabis dealer jailed for 12 months

Connor Moran Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A dealer caught peddling cannabis while on a suspended sentence for doing exactly the same thing has been jailed for a year.

Jailing Connor Moran for 12 months at Swindon Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Peter Crabtree said: “Anyone who is involved in the supply of drugs whether class A, B or C is involved in criminality which causes harm to society and serious harm to individuals.”

READ MORE: Jail for cannabis dealer who was on suspended sentence

Dealer wired on his own supply

Josef Gordon Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

When he was caught by police, a cocaine dealer hadn’t slept for seven days because he was so high on his own supply.

Former doorman Josef Gordon, 29, had turned to selling the class A drug after amassing huge debts to his dealers.

He was sentenced to three years and seven months' imprisonment.

READ MORE: Jail for remorseful cocaine dealer for whom arrest was a 'wake up call'

Arsonist left bizarre notes before torching flat

James Parker Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A man left scrawled notes on the wall of his flat then doused furniture in lighter fluid and lit it – in a revenge attack aimed at the woman he believed had dumped him and the landlord who was throwing them out.

James Parker, 38, was jailed for four years. The court heard he had been suffering from mental health issues.

READ MORE: Man used lighter fluid to set fire that gutted Chippenham flat

Remorseful dealer reads letter to judge

Jermell Joseph Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

A drug dealer told a judge he was devastated to be missing the birth of his child.

Jermell Joseph, 31, was sent to prison for 28 months after he admitted supplying crack cocaine and heroin for the “Jay” County Line in Swindon last year.

READ MORE: Remorseful drug dealer tells judge he 'wishes he could turn back time'