Marianne Smyth, an American, claimed to be Jennifer Aniston, a psychic, an heiress and a Satanic priestess - all part of a long career on both sides of the Atlantic as a swindler and a conwoman. Smyth has now been convicted at Downpatrick Crown Court of swindling more than £115,000 from four victims, including Derry GAA player Dermot McNicholl.
A Metropolitan Police volunteer officer has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a child. James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, groomed one of his two victims online before sexually assaulting her when she was just 12 years old. The 27-year-old, from Chesham in Buckinghamshire, was also found guilty of raping a woman he met online while posing as a 16-year-old girl.
Michael Howell, 65, was convicted on Monday following a jury trial in Suffolk County Supreme Court, where prosecutors detailed how he used a combination of crack cocaine, heroin, intimidation, and repeated assaults to control his victim and profit off her exploitation in hotel rooms across Long Island and neighboring counties. According to evidence presented at trial, from April 2023 through February 1 of this year, Howell posted online advertisements offering the woman for sex and then pocketed the money she was paid.
Jamar Murry-El, 31, was found guilty by a jury of Robbery in the Third Degree, Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
Oliver Berry's conviction was upheld after he attempted to overturn it, having previously committed severe sexual abuse against his daughters, highlighting serious systemic failures.