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Charity Commission disqualifies four trustees after CEO used charity as front for criminal activities

Charity Commission disqualifies four trustees after CEO used charity as front for criminal activities

Source: Charity Commission published on this website Friday 29 August 2025 by Jill Powell

The charity was set up to support blind and partially sighted members of African and Caribbean communities and provide services which included immigration advice, education and training. 

An official inquiry report, published today, found that four trustees of the charity had not sufficiently overseen the actions of the charity’s CEO, Ibukun Olashore, including by allowing her to continue acting as CEO following a serious conviction. The lack of action by the trustees enabled the CEO to have sole access to charity funds and use the charity to offer immigration advice illegally. As a result, the regulator has disqualified four trustees.

The Commission has now removed the charity from its public register after it was struck off by Companies House.

In March 2021, the charity’s CEO was charged with serious criminal offences. In April 2022, she was convicted of conspiracy to do an act to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national and of conspiracy to possess/control identity documents with intent. As such, she was automatically disqualified from being a charity trustee or holding a position with senior management functions within a charity.  

At her sentencing, the judge concluded that the CEO used the charity ‘as a front’ and that material evidence showed Ms Olashore was “using OBAC as a way of disguising [her] dishonest activities and potentially finding people with whom [she] could take money.”

The regulator opened an inquiry after the trustees repeatedly failed to respond to requests for information, including a formal direction to submit information by legal order. It also had suspicions that the CEO remained at the charity despite her conviction.  

In its report, the Commission finds that:

  • even after being made aware of the CEO’s convictions for serious criminal offences, the trustees failed to take any steps to address this matter, such as suspending the CEO and carrying out an internal investigation  
  • the trustees exerted insufficient oversight over the charity, allowing it to be used as a vehicle for criminal activity. Proactive intervention by the trustees may have helped mitigate the impact on the charity and prevent it from being misused for over 10 years
  • for two years, the trustees exposed the charity to risk of criminal conviction by continuing to offer immigration services despite the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) refusing to re-register the charity as an immigration service provider. The IAA rejected the charity’s application in July 2022 which came into effect in August 2022
  • the charity had been subletting its offices which was in breach of its tenancy agreement and this had been its only source of income since February 2023. When questioned, the trustees had no knowledge of the lease terms or who one of the subletters was
  • the charity failed to report serious incidents at the charity, including the CEO’s conviction, a break-in and threats made to staff by a beneficiary
  • trustees repeatedly failed to respond to the Commission and either failed to provide sufficient answers or attend meetings when summoned in person

The Commission finds all of these failures amount to serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration, governance and management of the charity. The report, which contains the full findings, is available on gov.uk.

The regulator gave the trustees the opportunity to remedy their failings by issuing the charity a Regulatory Action Plan but the trustees failed to act. As a result, the Commission has disqualified the four most recently serving trustees. Ruth Bishop, Diib Jama and Rasheed Bello have been disqualified for 5 years. Dwight Watson has been disqualified for 3 years. The charity’s CEO is automatically disqualified indefinitely.  

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission, said: 

We expect anyone running a charity to do so honestly, and with integrity. To use a charity as a cover for criminal activity is wholly unacceptable and an abuse of trust. By allowing this to continue, the charity’s trustees have also abused the trust placed in them and failed to uphold their legal duties. 

The Commission will always take robust action if a charity is misused. We do this to prevent further harm and ensure that trust in the wider sector is protected. It was proportionate in this case to disqualify four trustees, all of whom failed to meaningfully engage with our inquiry.”  

South London man given life sentence for multiple rapes

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Wednesday August 20 2025 by Jill Powell

A man identified as one of London’s most dangerous offenders has been jailed for rape and sexual assault following an investigation led by Met Police detectives.

The Met’s innovative ‘V100’ programme is transforming the way officers can identify and target the most dangerous perpetrators of violence against women and girls. The V100 programme uses data to identify and target the men who pose the highest risk to women. This allows us to focus the efforts of local and specialist Met officers across London on reducing the threat posed by the most dangerous perpetrators and protecting potential victims from the devastating damage they cause. 

Clinton Easy, 32 (10.09.92), of Lutwyche Road, SE6, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 12 years on Thursday, 14 August at Woolwich Crown court.

A restraining order will also be imposed by the judge.

The sentencing followed two trials. During the first trial beginning in July 2024, Easy pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and two charges of actual bodily harm and was found guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour.

The second trial began in May 2025 where Easy was found guilty of two charges of rape.

Detective Inspector Jemma Gregory said: “Easy’s offending is shocking and sets him as a dangerous individual who, thanks to the reports from the victim and strong storyboard of evidence collated by the team, is now safely behind bars.

“I would like to commend the victim on her strength throughout the investigation and thank her for her support throughout the court processes. It is clear that her early reporting has strengthened this case to secure a strong sentence.

“The Met is dedicated to tackling violence against women and girls by hunting down predatory men, with innovative methods being used in practice to secure convictions and strong sentences against those who pose the highest risk.”

Officers were alerted to Easy’s offending following a report made by the victim on 11 January 2024.

Earlier in the evening, Easy had subjected the victim to multiple rapes within her own home, after persuading her to allow him to enter her property.

Threatening her with extreme violence, Easy had bound the victim’s hands while he assaulted her.

A report was made by the victim within hours of the offending taking place, and so officers worked resourcefully to obtain photos of injuries and collect evidence from the scene of the offending, including a cup of Easy’s urine which had been thrown.

Through speaking to the victim, detectives uncovered a pattern of offending which had begun with controlling behaviours against the victim, where Easy would take her phone and post on her social media accounts.

It became apparent that Easy’s offending had been ongoing for nearly a year with medical records acquired by detectives showing that his attacks had led to the victim to require hospital treatment on multiple occasions in 2023.

Officers established a timeline with a storyboard of evidence gathered post the events

Easy was arrested following a manhunt on 1 February 2024.

The Met is using a number of tactics including our V100 to improve the response to violence against women and girls (VAWG). We have also rolled out training to 20,000 frontline officers and added 565 specially trained officers and staff into teams tackling VAWG which has doubled charges for rape since 2022 and secured 389 Stalking Protection Orders.

Celebrity osteopath who spied on thousands of women for more than a decade jailed

Source: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published on this website Tuesday 29 July 2025

A celebrity osteopath who is thought to be one of London’s most prolific ever voyeurs was jailed for three years today, after he admitted taking intimate images and videos of thousands of women without their knowledge.

Torben Stig Hersborg, 64, of Tower Hamlets, London, took secret pictures and videos of approximately 2,000 women in his clinic, in public and private places and students living in university accommodations across London for more than a decade.

The scale of his offences – revealed for the first time in court yesterday by prosecutors – suggests he is one of the capital’s most prolific ever voyeurs.

Hersborg, a Danish national, boasts a string of high-profile celebrity clients including TV personalities and Olympians, and has been pictured with some of the nation’s most famous faces.

He was jailed for three years and five months after prosecutors built a strong case against him, even though victims couldn’t be identified, and as a result he pleaded guilty to eight serious charges at the earliest possible opportunity.

Alex Weichselbaum of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Hersborg operated in plain sight for too long and, having targeted thousands of women over 12 years, we believe the scale and significance of his offending makes him one of London’s most prolific voyeurs.

“His meticulously planned acts included setting up secret cameras in his clinic and covertly filming women - both in public and when they thought they were in the privacy of their own homes.

“Hersborg deliberately abused the trust of his unwitting patients by filming them in intimate positions and targeted strangers for his own sexual gratification.

“Women should be free to live their lives without unwanted intrusion – particularly from sexual offenders like Hersborg who deliberately chose to film or photograph them in their most private or intimate moments.”

A phone call to the police:

In December 2024, a member of the public contacted the police after they spotted a suspicious vehicle outside university accommodation in Islington, north London.

Hersborg was seen in the back seat of a dark Lexus wearing black gloves and sat on seats lined with black plastic bags. A search of the vehicle found a telescope in the footwell and a video camera with black tape around the lens, pointed at students living inside.

A hard drive, SD cards and recording device were all recovered and analysed after Hersborg was arrested and were found to contain thousands of files containing images and videos of victims.

It soon became clear that women were filmed without their knowledge in Hersborg’s private practice in Old Street, at beaches, on footpaths, waiting at bus stops or for the tube and when they were in their own homes.

Some pictures and videos showed victims undressing in their bedrooms and bathrooms. On two videos found on his SD cards, women were filmed having sexual intercourse without their knowledge.

Building an evidence-led case:

Despite not being able to identify any of the women who appear in the videos and photographs, nor obtain statements from them, prosecutors were determined to secure justice for every one of Hersborg’s victims.

By focusing on the digital material, which showed thousands of different women being filmed and photographed without their knowledge, the Crown Prosecution Service focused on an evidence-led approach which identified consistent patterns of offending.

They built a picture of Hersborg’s motive – which over a 12-year period consistently saw him use secret or concealed cameras to focus on intimate areas of the body or when women were in private situations in their home.

Working closely with officers from the Metropolitan Police, the prosecution team was able to bring an overwhelming volume of digital evidence to court at the first hearing in December 2024, which saw Hersborg plead guilty to multiple voyeurism charges.

After his devices were analysed by officers, Hersborg was later charged with five further counts of voyeurism and admitted all of these offences at a separate court hearing in January 2025.

Places of worship warned by regulator over “inflammatory and divisive” language

Source: The Charity Commission published on this site Thursday 31 July 2025 by Jill Powell

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has criticised the Central Oxford Mosque Society and The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent, both of which failed to prevent their platforms being misused to communicate inappropriate material.  

It was found that there was misconduct and / or mismanagement committed in connection with the charities.  

Central Oxford Mosque Society 

The Commission opened a case into the charity after concerns were raised about posts on the charity’s social media platform in October and November 2023.  

The posts commented on the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East. One provided information on what to do if arrested at a protest and advertised the services of a specific private solicitor’s firm. Another featured a graphic cartoon which seemed to criticise media reporting of the conflict. A third post included another cartoon suggesting the media misrepresents the situation in Palestine. Both cartoons were shared by the charity just three days after the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The Commission considered that the sharing of these cartoons could create community tensions in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.  

The regulator engaged with the trustees, who were unable to explain how the posts furthered the charity’s purposes for the public benefit. It found that, at the time of publishing the posts, the charity had no social media policy in place and that only one trustee had access to the social media account. The trustees’ responses to the Commission also failed to acknowledge or recognise all of the concerns about the posts in question.  

The Commission concluded that the posts were outside the charity’s purposes, and that two were divisive and inflammatory.  

The Official Warning sets out actions the charity is to take to address the wrongdoing, including to create, implement and adhere to robust policies, including a social media policy, and to ensure all of the charity’s activities are in furtherance of its purposes.   

The regulator acknowledges that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an Official Warning, the charity’s trustees have taken steps to address the concerns. 

The Mosque and Islamic Centre of Brent 

The Commission opened a case after concerns were raised in the media about speeches held at the charity’s premises. The sermons were promoted on the speaker’s social media channel.  

The Commission determined that of five speeches given at the charity’s premises in November and December 2023, four included inflammatory and divisive content, two contained content that could reasonably be interpreted as encouraging support of Hamas, a proscribed organisation, and one could be reasonably interpreted as discouraging worshippers from engaging with democratic processes.  

The Commission found that, at the time of the speeches, the charity did not have effective policies in place to manage risks related to speakers at the charity. In response to the regulator’s concerns, the charity’s trustees did not demonstrate that that they fully understood the risk of reputational harm being caused by the sermon and were unable to offer adequate assurance that they would take action to prevent a similar failure in the future.  

The Official Warning sets out steps the charity now needs to take to address the concerns.  

The Commission notes that, since it gave the charity notice of its intention to issue an Official Warning, the charity has adopted a written policy on speakers.  

Charity Commission Assistant Director for Investigations and Compliance, Stephen Roake said

“We recognise that recent events in the Middle East are emotive and distressing. But it is precisely in times of conflict that charities are expected to bring people together, not to stoke further division.  

“Trustees of charities have a legal duty and responsibility to ensure everything their charity does is capable of furthering its purposes, and must also take steps to protect the charity’s assets, including its reputation.  

“Sadly, in the case of these two charities, the trustees failed to have appropriate processes in place, and allowed their charity’s names and reputations to be exposed to serious harm through inflammatory and divisive language, and in one case, seeming to associate the charity with a proscribed organisation.  

“We expect the trustees to continue to take swift action to address the respective concerns.”

During the last 18 months, the Commission has opened more than 300 regulatory cases involving charities supporting different sides of the Middle East conflict. It has issued formal statutory guidance to charities in around 100 of these cases, and has made more than 70 referrals to the police where it considers a criminal offence might have been committed. 

Former nursery worker convicted of child cruelty offences

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Wednesday 18 June 2025 by Jill Powell

Former nursery worker found guilty of child cruelty against children in her care. A 22-year-old nursery worker has been found guilty of 21 counts of child cruelty after she abused multiple children in her care.

Roksana Helena Lecka, 22 of Avro Place, Hounslow appeared at Kingston Crown Court on Monday, 16 June, where following a six-week-trial was found guilty of 21 counts of child cruelty.

She was brought to justice after a Met investigation found Lecka had abused children as young as ten months at two separate nurseries in Twickenham and Hounslow between October 2023 and June 2024. Met Officers first began investigating Lecka in June 2024, following concerns from a diligent staff member at the nursery about Lecka’s behaviour.

Investigators unveiled shocking CCTV footage which showed Lecka repeatedly pinching the children and roughly placing them on the floor causing the victims to be cry and appear distressed. The footage also showed Lecka vaping less than a metre from a small baby on more than one occasion. Met Police officers were called to the location and reviewed over 45 hours of CCTV from 28 June 2024.

Statements were taken from the children’s parents and multiple red marks, bruises and scratches were located on the children a number of parents provided pictures of the injuries found on their children. The victim’s families received specialist support from officers.

After these enquiries had taken place, Lecka was arrested at her home on 5 July on suspicion of child cruelty offences. During interview, she answered no comment to all questions and refused to acknowledge her actions when shown the CCTV footage. She was released on bail whilst officers within the Child Abuse Investigation Team continued enquiries.

Detective Sergeant Geoff Boye of Met Police’s Public Protection Command said:

“As our officers continued to review over 300 hours of CCTV, it became clear that Lecka’s offending was prolific. Footage showed Lecka carrying out multiple assaults on the children in her care which included repeatedly pinching and grabbing children, dropping babies into their cots and on one occasion, she delivered several kicks to a young boy to the face and stepped on his shoulder.

“She was further arrested and charged on 25 July 2024 with 12 counts of child cruelty, 12 counts of actual bodily harm and one count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.”

Following an initial appearance in court, this indictment was amended to 24 counts of child cruelty against 24 separate children.

Lecka was convicted on Monday, 16 June of 21 counts of child cruelty. The jury found her not guilty on three counts. She will appear at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, 26 September for sentencing.