Niki Dean Haycock v R

Facts

The appellant, Niki Dean Haycock, then aged 27, pleaded guilty on 21 March 2006 in the Crown Court at Kingston upon Hull to controlling prostitution for gain contrary to section 53 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (count one) and to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (counts four and five); he was formally acquitted of robbery and of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, the Crown having offered no evidence. The appellant and the complainant, his partner, were both addicted to heroin, and the Recorder found that he had controlled both her prostitution and the complainant herself by rationing her drugs, by intimidation and by violence, including two vicious assaults, one when she was pregnant. He had 27 previous convictions for 70 offences. On 27 April 2006 Mr Recorder Ekins imposed on count one a sentence of imprisonment for public protection with a minimum term of 30 months less 209 days spent on remand, and concurrent three-year sentences on counts four and five. None of the three offences was a 'serious offence' as defined, so no such sentence was lawfully available. The error was noticed in April 2026 by the appellant's solicitor while preparing for a Parole Board review, and applications for leave and for an extension of time of 7,291 days followed.