A football fan who was banned from matches after wearing a shirt mocking the Hillsborough disaster has been jailed for 24 years for rape, sexual assault and a campaign of violent abuse.
James White, 36, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court after being found guilty of all charges against him in June. He had pleaded not guilty to rape, sexual assault, assault and domestic abuse charges.
The court heard that a victim alerted a relative after being attacked by White, who subsequently fled his address in Warwickshire. The victim suffered cuts to her abdomen inflicted with a knife, as well as facial bruising and injuries to her back and torso.
Detective Constable Baylie Cairns, from Warwickshire Police, said White had subjected the victim to "a campaign of horrific abuse, violence and sexual assaults" and noted that his 24-year prison sentence "prevents him from posing a risk to the victim and others."
Cairns praised the victim for coming forward during the investigation, adding: "She showed remarkable bravery and courage in speaking to me about the offences committed against her."
White was arrested last year following the allegations and subsequently stood trial at Warwick Crown Court, where a jury convicted him on all counts before the judge handed down the 24-year sentence.
Football banning order and shirt controversy
White was previously prosecuted and banned from all football grounds in the country in 2023 after attending the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City while wearing an offensive shirt.
He wore a Manchester United jersey printed with the number 97 and the words "Not Enough" on the back, directly mocking the 97 Liverpool fans who were crushed to death at the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.
Appearing before District Judge Mark Jabbitt in 2023, White pleaded guilty to displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Judge Jabbitt branded White abhorrent and stated that it was "hard to imagine a more... offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster."
Following his arrest at the stadium, White bizarrely claimed to police officers that the shirt referred to his grandfather, who he claimed had died at the age of 97 "and didn't have enough kids."
White was fined £1,000, ordered to pay £485 in costs, and given a four-year banning order prohibiting him from attending any regulated UK football matches.
Manchester United also issued an indefinite stadium ban barring White from Old Trafford. A club spokesperson condemned his actions at the time, stating: "Mockery of Hillsborough and other football tragedies is completely unacceptable and the club will continue to support firm action to eradicate it from the game."
Background to the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy
The Hillsborough disaster occurred on April 15, 1989, during an FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Overcrowding in the stadium pens resulted in a fatal crush that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool supporters and left hundreds injured.
A series of inquests concluded a decade ago found that the 97 fans were unlawfully killed, ruling out supporter behavior as the cause of the disaster.
