Staffordshire man and woman sentenced for accessing unauthorised computer material

Shane Davis and Lauren Leese both pleaded guilty to unauthorised accessing of computer material at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday. 

Davis, 36, of HMP Dovegate, was sentenced to 12 months to be served concurrently with his current sentence, while Leese, 30, of Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.  

The court had heard how Leese was employed as an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) for former Stoke-on-Trent-based charity Savana when she was arrested in September 2024. She denied the offence when interviewed.

Evidence showed that for six months in 2024, she unlawfully obtained and shared sensitive personal information from a child victim of serious sexual offences and shared that information with Shane Davis, a prisoner at HMP Dovegate. Davis then used that information to threaten and intimidate a fellow prisoner.

Staffordshire Police Detective Inspector Lewis Haigh said: “Lauren Leese held a position of trust at responsibility with Savana, which she betrayed, letting down the victims she supported, her colleagues and the public.

“She was only supposed to access sensitive and confidential information when necessary to support and advocate for victims of serious crime and instead she passed information to Davis, who was on remand awaiting a trial after being charged with rape offences and who she sustained a relationship with whilst he was in prison.”