NEWS

Jailed: Neil Jackson A Belfast man who subjected three young children to years of sexual and physical abuse has been jailed for 20 years after being convicted of a catalogue of offences described by police as “predatory, manipulative and entirely depraved”. Neil Jackson, 44, was sentenced today to 20 years’ imprisonment, comprising 10 years in custody followed by 10 years on licence, for a series of offences committed against three victims over a prolonged period. The court h

Level Crossing at Castlerock on the Belfast to Derry~Londonderry line. Two men have been hit with fines totalling £15,000 after the High Court took action over dangerous misuse of a railway crossing in Co Londonderry — in what Translink says is one of the largest penalties ever imposed for level crossing offences in the UK. The case, linked to a User Worked Crossing in the Limavady area, comes as the rail industry marks International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD) on Tu

Murdered: Ballymoney man Steven Peck, described by loved ones as a “gentle giant”. The final chapter in the murder case of Ballymoney man Steven Peck was played out in court on Friday as three men and a woman were sentenced over offences connected to the brutal attack that claimed the 33-year-old’s life. More than five years after Mr Peck suffered catastrophic head injuries in Ballymoney, Coleraine Crown Court heard the final sentences handed down to those involved in the cas

*Stock image A dog owner has been banned from keeping dogs for 20 years after a series of attacks involving an unlicensed French Bulldog left three women injured — including victims who suffered severe facial injuries. The case, which was brought before Laganside Magistrates’ Court earlier this month, followed three separate attacks between October 2024 and April 2025 that triggered a major investigation by enforcement officers from Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. Co

22-year-old Cameron Mullen from Kilrea A 22-year-old man from Kilrea has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after police uncovered a series of online child sexual offences involving young teenage boys contacted through Instagram. Cameron Mullen was sentenced at Dungannon Crown Court on Wednesday, May 20, after pleading guilty to seven offences including sexual communication with a child and inciting children to engage in sexual activity online. The case emerged a

A care home provider has revealed staff were dismissed and others referred to professional bodies following the death of an 85-year-old resident at a Lisburn nursing home that later led to a criminal prosecution and £10,000 court fine. Healthcare Ireland, which also runs Slemish Care Home and Braefield Care Home in Ballymena, issued the statement after Healthcare Ireland (no.2) Limited appeared before Lisburn Magistrates Court over failings linked to the death of William Moor

Pond Park Care Home A care home provider operating in Northern Ireland has been fined £10,000 following the death of an 85-year-old resident who suffered a significant head injury after not being checked in line with his care plan. Healthcare Ireland (no.2) Limited, part of the wider Healthcare Ireland Group, was sentenced at Lisburn Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to a health and safety offence linked to the incident at Pond Park Nursing Home in Lisburn. The prosecut

Retired Baptist pastor Clive Johnston A retired Baptist pastor has been convicted under Northern Ireland’s abortion buffer zone laws after preaching on John 3:16 near Causeway Hospital in Coleraine — prompting fierce criticism from the Traditional Unionist Voice, which described the judgement as a “chilling” attack on freedom of speech and religion. Pastor Clive Johnston, 78, was found guilty of two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after holding an

Ballymena Magistrates’ Court A dog owner has been prosecuted after a serious incident in which a dog strayed and attacked a child, prompting enforcement action and a court ruling in Ballymena. Owner prosecuted after child attacked by dog Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council brought the case under the Dogs (Northern Ireland) Order 1983 (as amended) following an investigation into the attack. Council enforcement officers identified Ms Geraldine Millen, from the Toome area, a

Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket, Belfast A Belfast supermarket has been fined £100,000 after pleading guilty to health and safety offences linked to a fatal workplace accident involving one of its employees. Lee Foods Oriental Supermarket was sentenced at Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday 1 May 2026 following the death of warehouse operative Mr Wei Wang, who died days after sustaining injuries in a fall at the premises. Fatal workplace accident The incident occurred on 15 Au

A 29-year-old man has been charged to court following a fatal two-vehicle collision in the Nutts Corner area on Sunday 26 April, in which a teenage boy lost his life. The man, who had been arrested in the aftermath of the crash, has now been charged with causing death by dangerous driving along with a number of other offences. Court appearance scheduled He is due to appear before Limavady Magistrates’ Court today, Wednesday 29 April. The charges come as part of the ongoing in

A 77-year-old man has been jailed for historic child sexual abuse offences spanning more than four decades, with survivors describing the lifelong trauma they endured and calling on others to break their silence. William Lloyd Lavery, from Lisburn, was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on Tuesday, April 28, to two years’ imprisonment for six counts of indecent assault against children. The court heard that between 1976 and 1978, Lavery sexually assaulted four girls all aged

A 53-year-old man is to appear in court after detectives seized suspected drugs worth an estimated £4 million at Larne Harbour, in a significant operation targeting organised crime networks operating across Northern Ireland and the wider island of Ireland. The development follows a major joint investigation involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Organised Crime Branch and the An Garda Síochána National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau, working together under the Joi

Jailed: Curtis Dunlop (23) A 23-year-old man who took part in sustained rioting on the streets of Ballymena during three nights of disorder last summer has been jailed for 32 months, as police reiterated their commitment to pursuing all those involved in the violence. Kurtis Dunlop, 23, was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Monday, 20 April, after pleading guilty to the offence of riot linked to the disturbances that erupted in June 2025. He will serve half of the sentence —

A 43-year-old man has been charged following the security alert in Glenarm earlier this week, during which police carried out a controlled explosion on what was later confirmed to be a viable device. The latest development follows Monday’s major police operation in the Feystown Road area, where detectives launched an investigation after a suspicious item was reported and specialist officers were called to the scene. Court appearance on Wednesday Detectives investigating the i

A former nurse who was living in Cullybackey at the time of the offence has been struck off by the profession’s regulator after a criminal conviction over indecent online messages referring to sexual activity with children. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) has removed 56-year-old David Kenneth Paul McKeown from the register following a Fitness to Practise Committee hearing held on 17 March 2026. The regulator imposed a striking-off order, alongside an interim suspensio

Ballymena Magistrates’ Court A 30-year-old man has been charged to court after police investigated a report of threatening online messages allegedly sent to a local elected representative. The charges follow an incident reported to police on Friday, 27 March, raising concerns over the targeting of an elected public figure through digital communications. The man is due to appear before Ballymena Magistrates’ Court today, Thursday, 2 April. Charges brought following police inve

Drugs seized by police in the Ballykeel area of Ballymena A routine patrol in Ballymena has led to a major drugs seizure worth an estimated £450,000, in what police have described as a “substantial disruption” to illegal activity in the area. Officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) stopped and searched a suspicious vehicle in the Ballykeel area on Thursday, 26 March 2026. What they discovered inside was far from routine. Approximately 30 kilos of suspecte

A registered nurse has been fined after a court heard she was operating an unlicensed aesthetics clinic from her home, where prescription-only medicines were being stored and advertised illegally. Nafeyka Chavdarova, 44, from Portadown, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court where she pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Human Medicines Regulations. She was fined £720 and ordered to pay an offender levy. Unlicensed medicines seized The case arose following a visit

North Antrim MP Jim Allister, speaking in Parliament A new European court ruling on gender recognition has sparked fresh constitutional concerns in Northern Ireland, with TUV leader Jim Allister warning it could override a landmark UK Supreme Court decision. The North Antrim MP has raised urgent questions with the UK Government after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of a transgender woman in the so-called Shipova case—potentially setting up a legal clash with do