Ricky Stubberfield, 31, was convicted of 23 offences against seven women between 2013 and 2024.<\/p>\n
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said some of the assaults occurred at the Essex Smiles salon in Plymouth<\/a><\/strong>, Devon, during the 2022-2024 period he was the co-owner and manager.<\/p>\n The CPS said a number of the women were contacted by Stubberfield on Instagram and offered free treatment in exchange for promoting his business.<\/p>\n When they attended their appointments, Stubberfield made sexual advances before assaulting them.<\/p>\n Other offences were carried out by Stubberfield at a variety of locations around Plymouth.<\/p>\n The sex predator, of Plympton, was arrested in June 2024 after multiple complaints were made to police.<\/p>\n In July, he was found guilty of eight counts of rape; nine counts of sexual assault; four counts of assault by penetration; one count of making indecent images of a child; and one count of exposure.<\/p>\n Stubberfield was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on Tuesday.<\/p>\n He was handed a 26-year jail sentence, plus an additional six years on licence once released back into the community.<\/p>\n Stubberfield was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.<\/p>\n HHJ Judge Linford stated: “Your behaviour was utterly remorseless predation.”<\/p>\n The CPS said Stubberfield first came to the attention of police in February 2022 when a 16-year-old girl reported that he had sexually abused her on two occasions that month.<\/p>\n On one night, he had raped her in the disabled toilet during a concert at Plymouth Pavilions and later in the back of his van on Plymouth Hoe.<\/p>\n On the second occasion at a house, the victim was subjected to multiple rapes and other sexual offences while Stubberfield told her to “be quiet”.<\/p>\n Some of the offences were captured during a FaceTime call to her friend after Stubberfield brazenly pulled her out of view to sexually assault her and forced her to commit a sexual act upon him.<\/p>\n Unbeknown to Stubberfield, his actions were reflected in a nearby cooker hood and seen by the caller, who shouted out to stop him. She had also recorded the call and provided this to police.<\/p>\n Image: The court heard that in 2024, a woman reported that she had been abused by Stubberfield at Essex Smiles.<\/p>\n In response, Operation Highrock was launched by Devon and Cornwall Police’s Project Gemstone, a specialist sexual offences investigation team.<\/p>\n After a third report in 2024, Stubberfield was arrested and charged with multiple offences.<\/p>\n A report in the local media prompted other victims to come forward.<\/p>\n Some believed they were the only one and Stubberfield’s sexualised behaviour had often been dismissed by those who knew him as it being “just Ricky”.<\/p>\n Between 2022 and 2024, he had abused five women, all in their 20s, at the teeth whitening and tanning salon.<\/p>\n Four victims were sexually touched while receiving teeth whitening treatments, three from his social media offers. He also exposed himself to a fifth victim.<\/p>\n In all cases, Stubberfield made inappropriate sexual remarks as a precursor and asked details about their sex lives.<\/p>\n Once in the treatment chair with a mouth guard in, he took advantage and sexually assaulted them, asked for photos and made repeated forceful sexual advances.<\/p>\n One woman described feeling trapped, while another told police she froze in fear of what may happen next.<\/p>\n The fifth woman was accompanied by her toddler when she went to buy a product from the salon.<\/p>\n Stubberfield asked her out on a date, which she declined. He then showed her a picture of his genitals before pulling down his trousers to expose himself.<\/p>\n After she left the shop, he called a few minutes later to ask her out again.<\/p>\n Read more from Sky News: In 2013, Stubberfield sexually assaulted a woman he met on a dating site, forcing himself upon her before she was able to get away.<\/p>\n Another victim encountered Stubberfield in 2021 where he raped her twice before asking her if she “fancied a Nando’s”.<\/p>\n![\"Plymouth](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/skynews-plymouth-court_7057197.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Plymouth Crown Court. Pic: iStock<\/p>\n
Ex-French president enters prison for five-year sentence<\/a>
Man jailed for plotting to rape and murder TV star loses appeal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n