Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Monday 11 May 2026 by Jill Powell

A mother and her boyfriend have been sentenced to a total of 27 years following the death her young son Kol Page after a Met Police investigation uncovered a raft of evidence to prove they brutally assaulted him.

Detectives saw through the lies told by Zoe Coutts and Scott O'Connor as they blamed the toddler's horrific injuries on his 'clumsiness', before turning on each other in a final effort to avoid justice.

Two-year-old Kol was found by the London Ambulance Service on Monday, 25 April 2022 not breathing, with bruises over his face and a serious injury to his abdomen, caused by a stamp or punch.

He bravely lived on for two more years, before dying aged just four years and three months on Saturday, 29 June, 2024.

Met homicide detectives analysed thousands of messages between Kol's family, CCTV of his killers' movements and carried out extensive interviews to prove that the his injuries came about while he was in the care of Coutts and O'Connor.

The couple were convicted on Wednesday, 25 March at Southwark Crown Court following a four-week trial. They were sentenced on Friday, 8 May.

• Coutts, 35 (11.05.1990), of Crayford, was convicted of allowing the death of a child. She was sentenced to nine years and 109 days in jail.
• O'Connor, 36 (02.02.1990),of Whinchat Road, Thamesmead, was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to an 18-year custodial sentence with a five-year extended sentence.

Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn, whose homicide team led the investigation, said: 

"Kol was an innocent little boy who suffered horrific abuse in the place where he should have been safest - at home with his mother.

"Coutts and her boyfriend, O'Connor, tried to deceive paramedics, doctors and police officers, repeating lie after lie about how Kol came to be so seriously injured.

"It was the tireless work of detectives that exposed the couple's lies, combing through months of messages, appalling pictures and CCTV evidence to uncover the sustained abuse suffered by that little boy.

“I want to thank the first responders who tried to help Kol in a case that has been particularly harrowing for all involved, especially the doctors and nurses who cared for him over such as sustained period of time and his foster carers who gave him immense compassion and safety.

“Kol was boisterous, cheeky and endlessly loving to everyone who knew him. He should have had a bright future, but was instead let down by those who should have protected him most. He will always be remembered.”

In a victim impact statement, Kol's foster parents described how he was so badly injured they initially moved into the hospital to look after him. They said that he loved seeing the emotional support dog and bought him guinea pigs after seeing how he responded to them sitting in his lap.

His foster parents told the court:

 "I immediately fell in love with him. I knew he needed someone to be there for him, to protect him. He was in so much pain. He would cry out in pain so much. You could hear him from the lifts as you walked into the hospital. I knew it was him as he had such a distinctive cry.

"It was so hard to comfort him, I wanted to cuddle him but it would cause him too much pain. But it was nice as the staff would say thank goodness you are here, as when he could hear my voice it would placate him. This meant that I knew he loved me in the same way I loved him.

"I see him as my child; I may not have given birth to him, but I see him as my son. I am blessed to have been able to have looked after Kol for the time I did."

In the early hours of Sunday, 24 April 2022, the day before Kol died, Coutts and O'Connor returned home after spending the night out drinking.

Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 09:44hrs on Monday, 25 April, to Downham Way, Bromley, to reports of a child who was not breathing.

When paramedics arrived, they found Kol without a pulse and with significant bruising to his head and face.

Kol was left with catastrophic brain damage, meaning he needed round-the-clock care. He spent 14 months in hospital before moving to live with his devoted new foster family.

Two years later, on Saturday, 29 June, 2024, he tragically died from his injuries.

Source: The Charity Commission published on this site Monday 27 April 2026 by Jill Powell

The Charity Commission has concluded its statutory inquiries into the Kantor Foundation and Kantor

Charitable Foundation, finding neither charity remained viable after the designation of the charities’ founder, Dr Vitacheslav Kantor.

Both charities were set up to provide grants to projects and causes in any part of the world as long as they were exclusively charitable. The charities shared a sole corporate trustee, which was a private limited company known as Kantor Trustees. One of the company’s directors, sole member, and the charities’ primary funder was Dr Kantor.

Background 

In April 2022, the UK Government named Dr Kantor as a ‘designated person’ under the UK’s Russia Sanctions regime. This meant that it was now a criminal offence for funds or economic resources in the UK to be made available to Dr Kantor. 

In the same month, the Commission opened inquiries into charities connected to Dr Kantor, these were: the Kantor Charitable Foundation (KCF), Kantor Foundation (KF) and the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (WHFF). The regulator froze charity bank accounts and prevented the trustee from parting with any of the charity’s property without the Commission’s prior consent. In May 2022, the regulator removed Dr Kantor as a trustee of WHFF meaning he was automatically disqualified from being a trustee and ceased to be a director of Kantor Trustees.

Findings 

In June 2023, the inquiries concluded that the Kantor Foundation and Kantor Charitable Foundation were no longer viable and that they should be wound up and dissolved. The inquiries reached this view having taken into consideration that Dr Kantor was the sole donor and it would be unlikely that either charity could secure future funding. There were also no trustees to run the charities following Dr Kantor’s designation and subsequent resignation of the other directors from the Kantor Trustees company.  

The inquiries also determined that reputational damage arising from the designation, meant that it would be unlikely that the charities could resolve these matters through fundraising or recruitment. 

The inquiries found that Dr Kantor was responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of both charities for failing to proactively resign following his designation. 

Dr Kantor’s failure to cooperate with the regulator’s investigation also amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement. 

Recovery of funds 

In May 2022, the regulator appointed Interim Managers to both charities as there were no longer any trustees running the charity. As part of their work to wind up the charities, they identified a number of outstanding Gift Aid claims were owed. After settling the charities’ liabilities, the Interim Managers distributed the remaining funds via charitable grants to several organisations, in line with the charities’ purposes. The total figure distributed to support charitable causes amounts to £1,388,000.00.

The Interim Managers also recovered a violin made by Italian violin maker, Riccardo Antoniazzi, which had been on loan from the Kantor Foundation. The violin – valued by the Foundation in 2019 as being worth £150,810 – has since been gifted to a registered charity. The terms of the gift stipulates that the violin must be used to promote musical education for the public benefit. 

The charities have both been wound up and have since been removed from the public Register of Charities. 

Joshua Farbridge, Head of compliance and visits and inspections at the Charity Commission, said:  

“Once designated, an individual cannot legally act as a trustee. Dr Kantor’s failure to step down immediately, his decision to ignore the Commission and failure to cooperate, amounted to misconduct and/or mismanagement. It also fell below our expectations of trustees. As a result of our investigations, we have now wound up both charities. We are pleased some good can come to other charities and causes as a result of our intervention. Instead of assets lying dormant, or owed Gift Aid lost, we’ve been able to see a much-needed boost of over £1.3m into the sector, and a culturally significant musical instrument gifted to a charity furthering musical education.”

Source: National Crime Agency (NCA) published on this website Tuesday 5 May 2026 by Jill Powell

A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to 23 years after being convicted of multiple sexual abuse offences involving seven children.

Jamie Beckett, from Wakefield, was arrested in December 2022 by National Crime Agency officers after receiving intelligence from international partners.

Further work by NCA investigators revealed links between a PayPal account, Gmail account and mobile number which were attributed to Beckett.

Beckett exploited the facilitator and victims' financial situation by offering cash for medical appointments, electricity and wifi in exchange for images and videos of child abuse. The payments ranged from as little as £6.20 to a maximum of £187 per request.

Online records revealed that between June 2020 and June 2022, Beckett had exchanged 9,493 messages, 356 media files and approximately 39 calls with the facilitator.

Beckett, a telecommunications engineer by profession, would provide specific instructions of what he wanted the facilitator to do to the victims. When the bespoke content did not meet his criteria, he withheld payment until new media was supplied which he was satisfied with.

Messages included Beckett persuading the facilitator to inflict sexual or physical harm, saying 'it will be a good money earn for you' and the child will 'get used' to it.

He would also object to receiving content he had already seen, instead demanding new images and videos of abuse. At one point he stated he wanted to travel to the Philippines to engage in the abuse himself.

In total, Beckett paid just under £560 for the abuse material which involved seven children aged between 5-15. The children have since been safeguarded.

Analysis of devices seized from his home found further evidence of his guilt, including indecent images of children on his mobile phone.

Beckett pleaded guilty to 25 charges at Leeds Crown Court in February 2026. He was sentenced to 23 years at the same court Friday 1 May, 16 years custodial and seven years on license. Beckett will be on the sex offenders' register for life and be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Judge Batiste described his offending as 'vile, repulsive, revolting and truly appalling beyond words' and gave the NCA officers involved a Judge's commendation for their work on the case.

Danielle Pownall, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said:

"This was a long and complex investigation into a depraved individual with a blatant disregard for children. Beckett completely dehumanised his victims, paying pitiful amounts of money in exchange for images and videos of extreme child abuse. The transactional relationship between Beckett and the facilitator exploited the victims' vulnerability and circumstances.

"With thanks to US law enforcement colleagues and the Philippine National Police, the NCA was able to identify Beckett and bring him to justice. We will continue to work closely with partners at home and abroad together with the Crown Prosecution Service to protect children from the threat posed by individuals who would seek to harm them."

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) A man has been found guilty of sexual assaults on young boys at a children’s home in Hastings in the 1970s.

Roland Simmons worked as a teacher at Guestling House, a residential home.

Four victims, who were placed into care at the property, and are now all in their 60s, came forward to report that they had been abused.

Catherine Wear, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Simmons was supposed to be caring for these boys, but instead he abused the trust placed in him, knowing that the boys would struggle to speak out and report what was happening to them.

“One victim woke to find Simmons abusing him. Simmons then claimed that he had been dreaming and everything was fine. Another victim described Simmons as “persistent” after he first abused him, saying that Simmons would ask him to go out in his car alone, but he kept refusing.

“The trauma of sexual abuse can stop victims from making complaints for many years, but these men had the courage to come forward and report what happened to them and by doing so, have ensured that Simmons has been brought to justice for his appalling crimes.” 

 Following a trial at Lewes Crown Court, Roland Simmons [25/01/1949] was convicted of 10 charges of indecent assault on a male person relating to four victims between 1974 and 1979.