An on the run rapist, a thief who stole a fairy statue and the "frontman" of a cocaine importation ring were among the Merseyside criminals jailed this week.
Also locked up was a thug who imprisoned a man before torturing and stabbing him over an unpaid drug debt. Meanwhile, Liverpool Crown Court heard that a hospital patient sexually assaulted a nurse, laughed and played a Bob Marley song on his mobile phone.
Here are the faces of nine criminals from our region who were imprisoned in the past week:
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Carl Roughley
The dad started dealing drugs after getting into money troubles.
Carl Roughley, 36, had seven wraps of cocaine and £555 cash in his vehicle when he was caught by police carrying out a deal in Southport on January 19. A search of his Brook Close home found a further 177 wraps weighing 103.4g, and £4,755 in cash.
He had lived a "thoroughly decent, law-abiding life" until becoming involved in dealing due to financial "desperation". The dad-of-two pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for 28 months.
Thomas Parker
The thug violently punched and strangled his own sister before breaking her arm in two places in a drunken rampage.
Thomas Parker, from Warrington, viciously assaulted his sister in front of her horrified teenage son after getting drunk while watching football. She suffered serious injuries and had to undergo an operation to reset her arm, which was permanently damaged.
The 34-year-old defendant admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation. He was jailed for 33 months.
Steven Larkin
The thief stole a fairy statue from the Shakespeare North Playhouse believing it would bring him "comfort and good luck".
Steven Larkin and Catherine Taylor stole the pewter statue, which was valued at £2,275 on August 26. A witness saw 45-year-old Larkin climb onto the roof to steal it while Taylor kept watch, before placing it into her bag and carrying it away.
The pair were later identified on CCTV and arrested. Magistrates heard that Larkin - who was jailed for 24 weeks for theft - is still grieving for his son, who was murdered in September aged 22.
Kevin Boyle
The dad set up a fake computer company as a front for a cocaine importation ring, but will be "back with his family for Christmas".
Kevin Boyle even had jackets produced with the supposed business' logo emblazoned on them on behalf of the Gallagher brothers, who headed up the conspiracy. However, he maintains that he did not realise he was involved in the supply of class A drugs and instead believed he was part of a scheme to avoid paying duty on cigarettes and alcohol brought into the country.
The 41-year-old "acted as a frontman" for the organised crime group's shell company. Boyle was responsible for creating the alias Maurice Clarke and registering Clarke Computers and Software Ltd with Companies House using a fake passport.
The father attended viewings for warehouses in a company branded fleece "to add an air of legitimacy", with a unit on Trafalgar Court in Widnes ultimately leased as a storage facility. He admitted participating in the activities of an organised crime group and was handed a jail term of 30 months, but is likely to be released in the near future having served 14-and-a-half months on remand.
Martin Gill
The child rapist fled to Turkey and Russia but has now been brought to justice after six months on the run.
Martin Gill, from St Helens, absconded three days before he was due to stand trial accused of historic sex offences at Liverpool Crown Court. The 36-year-old was convicted in his absence and subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.
He was detained at Manchester Airport on Thursday on Thursday, December 1, upon his arrival back in the country. The court heard he had flown to Istanbul then travelled onwards to Russia "to inform his fairly new wife of the trial and convictions he was facing".
Gill, of Waring Aveune, pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching court bail this morning and was handed an additional six months behind bars. He committed his campaign of sexual abuse in the early noughties when he himself was a youth.
Anthony Smith
The thug imprisoned a man before torturing and stabbing him over an unpaid drug debt.
Anthony Smith, from Croxteth, bound the man's hands and feet before beating, stabbing and threatening him at a home in Swansea. The 41-year-old, of Sovereign Road, told his victim he was going to be buried in a makeshift grave in the garden, and his girlfriend was going to be tied up and dragged behind a car as it drove along the motorway.
He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, unlawful wounding, blackmail, robbery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Smith was jailed for eight years.
Claire Brennan
The cruel crimes of a pair of despicable robbers were discovered when their vulnerable victim tried to jump off a motorway bridge.
Claire Brennan and Brian Elliott drove the man to the brink of suicide after leaving him with no money to feed himself or pay bills. But, after being talked down by police, he opened up about how they had routinely been marching him to a cash machine once every two weeks and forcing him to hand over his benefit money on the day it was paid.
This included the latter threatening to stab him in the face. Both defendants were found guilty of robbery, theft and witness intimidation after a trial.
Elliott, 42, was imprisoned for seven years. Brennan, 41, handed a sentence of three-and-a-half years behind bars.
Shankar Singh
The hospital patient groped a nurse, laughed and played a Bob Marley song on his mobile phone.
Shankar Singh sexually assaulted the Royal Liverpool Hospital worker as she was tending to him after he had been admitted as an inpatient. Despite the dad's vile actions, which left her "worried and frightened", she courageously continued to provide her attacker with treatment in the interests of his health and wellbeing.
The 35-year-old was in hospital last year due to cellulitis when the member of staff was leaning over him in order to fit a canula. As she did so, Singh grabbed her by the breasts, laughed and played No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley and the Wailers on his phone before saying "this could have been us".
He was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial. Judge Anil Murray jailed him for eight months.
Peter Willans
A man stole more than £100,000 of used tyres and bin bags then tried to hide from police in a motorway service station toilet.
Peter Willans pinched the goods during brazen heists targeting shipping containers, including one taken from the Port of Liverpool. The dad-of-two claims that he was put to work by drug dealers to whom he owed large debts.
Police feared that the stolen lorry could be used in a potential terrorist attack after it smashed through a security barrier. And the 35-year-old was oddly linked to the crimes because of his tattoo.
Willans admitted two counts of theft. He was jailed for 28 months.
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