SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing, Lady Ross said:

"Robert Markward, you were convicted of 10 separate charges.  Of these, nine were crimes of dishonesty: theft and fraud.  There was a clear pattern in what you did.  You tricked your way into the homes of elderly people, pretending to be somebody else – an electrician, a carer, a friend of a friend or, rather improbably, a student nurse – all in order to steal purses, bank cards or cash.  In several cases, you sought out opportunities in places where people live in supported accommodation, or sheltered housing.  Your opportunistic thieving also extended to lifting a parcel from a doorstep.

On one occasion, the elderly lady whom you had targeted realised, once you were in her flat, that you were up to no good and, with quick thinking, alerted the house manager.  She and her husband responded immediately.  You didn’t take well to being challenged, responding with pushing and punching and then you ran away.  Showing real bravery, the house manager’s husband tried to stop you but you continued to hit him and you injured him, and you are now convicted of assault.

The sums of money involved were not very great.  In terms of cash, the amounts come to a little over £600 in total.  But the seriousness of your crimes cannot just be measured in pounds sterling.  You are a conman and in deliberately setting out to deceive elderly people, some of whom were particularly vulnerable, in their own homes and by convincing them to trust you and then exploiting that trust, you have committed nasty offences.  Society looks at this sort of behaviour with contempt and disgust.  The courts take it very seriously.

Before turning to your circumstances, I will say something about the impact of your offending on your victims.  I have read two victim impact statements and these give a clear sense of the difficult and long term consequences experienced.  In a statement prepared by the daughter of one of them, there is this measured and clear account:

For quite a while she felt stupid for allowing someone she did not know in her flat but he was very convincing and she trusted him.  She felt a little violated when she realised he had lied to her and he had walked around her home and she was there alone.  [She] is a strong, sensible lady but this event has shaken her confidence in strangers.

It is readily understandable that that should be the reaction. 

One or two of the people from whom you set out to steal gave you cups of tea.  They were decent and kind and they trusted you.  Decency, kindness and trust are not weaknesses.  They are not signs of stupidity.  They are integral to good character and to a strong and healthy society.  By deliberately taking advantage of people in these circumstances, your actions harm these individuals by making them feel more vulnerable and fearful and that damage spreads to society as a whole.

I have taken into account all that has been said on your behalf.  I have also read with care the criminal justice social work report.  You continue to deny responsibility for these offences and you have no real insight into the consequences of your actions.  I have taken account of the information provided about the traumatic experiences in your early life, as well as your current health difficulties and your age.  I understand that you have the continuing support of your sister and that is positive.

You are now 64 years old.  Your record of previous convictions is deeply concerning.  Beginning in your youth, theft and fraud have been interspersed with other offences, including violent offences, such as assaulting or resisting police officers.  You have made a career out of crimes of dishonesty.  I must refer to your record over the past 30 years because, in that period, since 1996, you have appeared in the High Court on no fewer than five separate occasions and, each time, you have been convicted of offences which are almost identical in character.  You have specialised in preying on elderly people.  It is alarming to note that in 2023 you returned to the same address, the same sheltered housing complex, which was the locus for some of your offending in 2003.  You have used the same techniques and, quite often, the same false name.  The sentences imposed on you in the past have had no obvious deterrent effect.  You committed the offences on the present indictment shortly after you were released on home leave.  Unsurprisingly, the author of the criminal justice social work report considers your risk of reoffending to be very high, indeed almost certain.  You are prepared to be violent when challenged and your assault conviction is a matter of real concern.

Efforts made towards rehabilitation in the past have not been effective.  There must remain some hope that, as you yourself approach old age, you might yet face up to the damaging nature of your behaviour and it may be that, if you are prepared to engage, some intervention will assist you with your mental health.  I must also consider the sentencing principles of punishment, and especially protection of the public.  Taking into account all relevant principles, and all of the information made available to me, I consider that a substantial custodial sentence is necessary.

These offences were committed as part of a course of conduct and it is appropriate that I deal with them all together.  Had I been imposing separate sentences, I would have selected custodial periods of 18 months in each case, which reflects both the consequences of your offending as well as the seriousness of your record.  That includes your conviction for assault which, as I have already noted, causes real concern.  Taking that approach the total sentence would be disproportionately high and I therefore impose a sentence in cumulo, dealing with everything together and that will be for a total of 9 years.

Of course, you committed these offences whilst you were on home leave.  I have taken account of all relevant matters in relation to your previous sentence and the period subsequently spent on remand, and the date to which this sentence will be backdated is 20 February 2025."