A woman who knew her victim through her work as a sex worker has been jailed for robbing him at his home alongside two hooded men. Leoni Prince, 39, of Crescent Road, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at Teesside Crown Court after pleading guilty to robbery.
Attack at the victim's home
The court heard that Prince knew the man lived alone and turned up at his door with the two men at 9.30am on Sunday, April 19. She engaged the victim in conversation before the two men "barged into him" and "dragged their victim to the ground," prosecutor Nigel Soppitt said.
The men kicked and punched the victim and demanded his bank card. Prince went through the man's pockets before going upstairs to search bedrooms. The victim was dragged upstairs and back down again during the attack, and was pinned face down in his living room. One of the men told him: "Stay there or we'll kill you."
Stolen goods and arrest
The three left the house in the Grove Hill area of Middlesbrough with plastic bags full of goods, including £100 in cash, the victim's bank card, two laptops, Xbox consoles, and a Nintendo Wii. Prince was later arrested and found with the victim's bank card and jewellery on her.
Her barrister, Dan Wilberforce, told the court that Prince had a "regrettable start to life," started drinking at 13, and later used drugs as a coping mechanism. He said the nature of her supplementary income meant she was also subject to assaults and beatings, and described her lifestyle as "horrific." The barrister said Prince claimed she did not know the man would be violently attacked and thought she would be smoking crack with the two men.
Judge's remarks and sentence
Judge Richard Bennett, speaking to Prince via video link from HMP Low Newton, said her pre-sentence report showed she accepted knowing the victim in her role as a sex worker and indicated that he had been kind to her. The judge said her explanation that she randomly came across the two males was not credible, and that her claim she did not see them assaulting the victim was clearly untrue.
The judge said Prince robbed the man because he was vulnerable and knew he was no match for the physical might of the two males. Prince will serve half of her sentence before being released on licence. A restraining order was put in place prohibiting her from contacting the victim for 10 years.
The court also heard Prince carried out a similar robbery in 2023, when she and an accomplice robbed someone who was pinned against a wall, stealing his phone and wallet. In 2020, she was banned from Linthorpe Village for 18 months after repeatedly shoplifting and begging for money.
