Disgraced Staffordshire police officer: Court will decide if sentence too lenient
A former Staffordshire Police officer who conned his disabled cousin out of her home and inheritance is to have his sentence reviewed for being too lenient.
John Gimbert was jailed for three-and-a-half years for fraud and theft after he asset stripped vulnerable Janette Trim and sold her bungalow to his police sergeant son for £1.
The Express & Star revealed that the case had been referred to the Solicitor General Robert Buckland.
It was then announced that he has now referred John Gimbert’s sentence to the Court of Appeal to assess whether it should be increased.
But Gimbert’s son David will not have his suspended sentence for his part in the fraud reviewed by Appeal judges. The pair, who both worked for Staffordshire Police, were convicted earlier this year at Birmingham Crown Court.
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A spokeswoman for the Solicitor General said: “The Solicitor General has referred the sentence of John Gimbert to the Court of Appeal. However, after careful consideration the solicitor has decided not to refer the sentence of David Gimbert.
“The threshold to refer cases is very high and a sentence can only be regarded as unduly lenient if there has been a gross error and it is significantly below the level that any judge could have reasonably imposed after considering the facts of the case.
“He concluded that it was unlikely that the court would find such an error had been made in respect of the sentence passed on David Gimbert.”Anyone can refer a case to the Solicitor General if they believe a sentence passed by a judge is too low.
The Solicitor General then decides which cases should be passed on to the Court of Appeal to be reviewed.
Appeal judges can then decide whether sentences can be increased.
John Gimbert, aged 65, of Westwood Park Avenue, Leek, served 30 years in the force before retiring. While David Gimbert, 37, of High View, Mow Cop, was sacked by the force last month after he was sentenced to a suspended six-month jail term. Both denied the charges against them but were found guilty by a jury following a retrial.
John Gimbert raided Miss Trim’s inheritance, following the death of her father, by giving large cash payments to his two sons and daughter.
He bought three new Chrysler cars worth thousands of pounds with money taken from her accounts. He and his wife would also use a ‘Motability’ car leased using her benefit money for their own purposes.
The ruse was exposed after staff at Staffordshire County Council became suspicious about John’s spending for his cousin such as for a new computer she would not have been able to use.
The court was told John Gimbert paid some of the money back – but the prosecution said this only came after concerns were raised by social services and carers.
