Recovered/Located UK - Constance Marten & Mark Gordon & Newborn, left a broken down car on motorway, Bolton Greater Manchester, 5 Jan 2023

[Amaz0nia]

I’m going to ask a very dumb question so please forgive me — someone with such a conviction as this, <modsnip>? Would this mean he isn’t allowed near children, therefore makes it harder to have his own? I don’t know how any of that works?
I was thinking they’ve been in hiding because they’ve had a baby in the past (going by an article posted on the previous page), perhaps removed from their care? And is perhaps the reason they’re running / hiding with their newborn now? JMO.

Not sure if im allowed to post it but there is all the info here on your question:

Information: Relationships, children and dealing with social services - Unlock

Aim of this page This information is designed to set out what you may need to consider if you have […]

unlock.org.uk

 

[wizardizzo76]

<modsnip> For a 14 year old boy to kidnap and sexually assault a much older woman is quite shocking. I doubt he got much mental and emotional support during those long years of incarceration, either.

"Today, almost a fortnight after the pair went missing, shocking new details about Gordon’s past came to light: he is reportedly a convicted rapist who was deported from the US in 2014 after serving 20 years behind bars for kidnap and sexual battery."

The aristocrat, the convicted sex offender and the urgent search for their baby

Tatler It-girl Constance Marten, 35, was born into one of England’s most prominent aristocratic families — now, she’s been arrested after 54 days on the run with a convicted rapist and their newborn child. Katie Strick reports

www.standard.co.uk

 

[Seni]

IMO. Where we stand with MG right now. Convicted and served a 20 year sentence in the US after which he returned to UK in 2014.

There is no official evidence that MG is on a SO ofender register in the UK, no evidence or reports of any crimes committed since then. There is no warrant out for his arrest.

 

[Telltale]

I think they were probably trying to get to europe before she had the baby, so they could escape the authorities questions here- but as it was born en-route before they could reach a port, their plans were scuppered, especially if all their belongings were burnt in that car inc passports etc. Really woudnt want to be in their situation now as theres nowhere to go being stuck on this island (UK) - at some point they will be found, its inevitable. Especially as MG’s past is out in the open. I just hope they dont get abused/attacked because of his convictions if someone spots them..the gen public dosnt respond kindly to sex offenders etx

I don't think so. With the new information it seems that they didn't panic and just suddenly make a poorly thought out plan to run for the boarder. They've been moving around for months, concealing the pregnancy and had the cash to do it.

It would have been indefinitely easier to get out of the county before the baby was born. If they intended to go abroad, they would have found a way long ago. I don't actually think there is a legal way to prevent a pregnant woman leaving the UK (out of concern for the unborn child) though other countries courts have in the past ultimately sent the child back due to the UK services concerns. <modsnip - no link>

Considering the cash it must take to move about as they have for months, it appears she has access to money somewhere. Even isolated as she's been, her upbringing would give her wealthy national and international connections and she's clearly travelled. I imagine she could probably have left the UK while pregnant and found somewhere to live and raise the child.

However legally his old conviction could be a major barrier to settling abroad with her. So doing so could mean being cut off from her whole support system, him and (probably) their older kids. <modsnip>

I think they intended to stay in the UK <modsnip> but do there best to keep knowledge of the new child from social services and any family that might report them. Can't see it working forever, but hard to stay rational in those circumstances, maybe they just convinced themselves they could, or they wanted to be able to show a record of successfully caring for the kid.

When things went tiits up, days after the baby was born, perhaps that's when they panicked and ran for a port, before realising the chances of getting on a ferry without getting recognised or the baby seen was too high to risk. Now they're stuck and trying to leave, but flying under the radar is a lot harder when everyone has seen their face.

 

[Amaz0nia]

IMO. Where we stand with MG right now. Convicted and served a 20 year sentence in the US after which he returned to UK in 2014.

There is no official evidence that MG is on a SO ofender register in the UK, no evidence or reports of any crimes committed since then. There is no warrant out for his arrest.

The conviction would need to have happened after 1997 to be added to the SO register here (UK) so seems like he dodnt have to register but the police would of been aware of the nature of the offence when he was deported back here.

Overseas convictions for sexual offences and the UK notification requirements - Unlock

If you’ve been convicted of a sexual offence abroad then it’s important to know that you could be made subject to notification requirements in England and Wales. The process is not always straightforward and the police will need to look at the offence that has been committed, especially where it...

unlock.org.uk

 

[ifindedout]

I flipped her platform pic, so that her dress is on the correct side, along with the platform lettering.

 

[Telltale]

I wonder what station that is, not that it's any help 2020 photo, just curious.

The conviction would need to have happened after 1997 to be added to the SO register here (UK) so seems like he dodnt have to register but the police would of been aware of the nature of the offence when he was deported back here.

Sexual Offences Act 2003 - Explanatory Notes

www.legislation.gov.uk

Looking into this a bit further...

195.The provisions in subsection (3) reflect the partially retrospective arrangements that apply in respect of the application of the notification requirements to people with convictions etc. in the UK (see section 81). The relevant conviction, finding or caution abroad must have taken place on or after 1 September 1997, which was the commencement date for the 1997 Act. Findings or convictions that occurred before that date will only be a trigger for a notification order where the person had yet to be dealt with on 1 September 1997 or was still serving a sentence or was subject to supervision or otherwise detained in respect of that offence on that date.

I am far from a lawyer, however I think this means he would technically count? He was definitely still locked up when this Act came into effect in 1997, he was inside for the whole of the 90s.

I might be reading it wrong of course.

 

[FruitTingles]

IMO. Where we stand with MG right now. Convicted and served a 20 year sentence in the US after which he returned to UK in 2014.

There is no official evidence that MG is on a SO ofender register in the UK, no evidence or reports of any crimes committed since then. There is no warrant out for his arrest.

So MSM reporting him as a sex offender is incorrect? IMO just because he isn’t or we don’t know if he’s on a SO registry; doesn’t mean he isn’t a SO. Look at what he was convicted of, and served a substantial amount of time for?

Ms Marten comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, while Mr Gordon is a sex offender who served 20 years in US jail for rape and battery.

Aristocrat missing with partner and newborn ‘have cash to stay off-grid’

Constance Marten, 35, her boyfriend, Mark Gordon, and their baby were last seen in east London on January 7.

www.shropshirestar.com

 

[dotr]

Noting slight variances in the reports regarding the US charges, rbbm fwiw.

Man who went missing with woman and new baby is sex offender | ITV News

Mark Gordon, who went missing with aristocrat Constance Marten and their new baby 11 days ago, served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery, police said. | ITV News London

www.itv.com

''According to a criminal record seen by ITV News, Mr Gordon was convicted of kidnapping and sexual battery while in Florida.
The 48-year-old was eventually deported from the US.''

---

Man missing with aristocratic partner and newborn baby is sex offender

The couple have evaded being tracked down by using cash, police said.

metro.co.uk

''A man who went missing with a woman and their newborn 11 days ago is a registered sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.''

Man missing with aristocratic partner and newborn baby is sex offender

The couple have evaded being tracked down by using cash, police said.

metro.co.uk

''A man who has gone missing with an aristocrat and their newborn baby is a sex offender who spent 24 years in a US jail, it has emerged.
British citizen Mark Gordon, 48, was deported after serving his sentence for raping and beating a woman in her 20s in Florida when he was 14.''

Dad missing with girlfriend and baby is sex offender who spent 20 years in jail

Mark Gordon was jailed in America in 1990 for the rape of a woman in Florida, since being deported to the UK he struck up a relationship with Constance Marten but the two have recently vanished along with a newborn baby

www.mirror.co.uk

''Mark Gordon was thrown behind bars in 1990, in America, for raping a woman after burgling her home in Florida when he was just 14.
After serving his lengthy sentence he was deported to the UK in 2010 and placed on the Sex Offenders Register''

 

[JuicyLucy]

I wonder what station that is, not that it's any help 2020 photo, just curious.

It's Bristol Parkway.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Noting slight variances in the reports regarding the US charges, rbbm fwiw.

Man who went missing with woman and new baby is sex offender | ITV News

Mark Gordon, who went missing with aristocrat Constance Marten and their new baby 11 days ago, served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery, police said. | ITV News London

www.itv.com

''According to a criminal record seen by ITV News, Mr Gordon was convicted of kidnapping and sexual battery while in Florida.
The 48-year-old was eventually deported from the US.''

---

Man missing with aristocratic partner and newborn baby is sex offender

The couple have evaded being tracked down by using cash, police said.

metro.co.uk

''A man who went missing with a woman and their newborn 11 days ago is a registered sex offender who served 20 years in a US jail for rape and battery.''

Man missing with aristocratic partner and newborn baby is sex offender

The couple have evaded being tracked down by using cash, police said.

metro.co.uk

''A man who has gone missing with an aristocrat and their newborn baby is a sex offender who spent 24 years in a US jail, it has emerged.
British citizen Mark Gordon, 48, was deported after serving his sentence for raping and beating a woman in her 20s in Florida when he was 14.''

Dad missing with girlfriend and baby is sex offender who spent 20 years in jail

Mark Gordon was jailed in America in 1990 for the rape of a woman in Florida, since being deported to the UK he struck up a relationship with Constance Marten but the two have recently vanished along with a newborn baby

www.mirror.co.uk

''Mark Gordon was thrown behind bars in 1990, in America, for raping a woman after burgling her home in Florida when he was just 14.
After serving his lengthy sentence he was deported to the UK in 2010 and placed on the Sex Offenders Register''

So on the SO register <modsnip>

 

[Seni]

So MSM reporting him as a sex offender is incorrect? IMO just because he isn’t or we don’t know if he’s on a SO registry; doesn’t mean he isn’t a SO. Look at what he was convicted of, and served a substantial amount of time for?

Ms Marten comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, while Mr Gordon is a sex offender who served 20 years in US jail for rape and battery.

Aristocrat missing with partner and newborn ‘have cash to stay off-grid’

Constance Marten, 35, her boyfriend, Mark Gordon, and their baby were last seen in east London on January 7.

www.shropshirestar.com

So MSM reporting him as a sex offender is incorrect? IMO just because he isn’t or we don’t know if he’s on a SO registry; doesn’t mean he isn’t a SO. Look at what he was convicted of, and served a substantial amount of time for?

Ms Marten comes from a wealthy aristocratic family, while Mr Gordon is a sex offender who served 20 years in US jail for rape and battery.

Aristocrat missing with partner and newborn ‘have cash to stay off-grid’

Constance Marten, 35, her boyfriend, Mark Gordon, and their baby were last seen in east London on January 7.

www.shropshirestar.com

No what I said was that it was incorrect to say on this thread without any link that he was or is on SO list. Thats all. As always IMO.

 

[Sillybilly]

Very lengthy and interesting article..
Jan 18 2023 rbbm

The aristocrat, the convicted sex offender and the urgent search for their baby

Tatler It-girl Constance Marten, 35, was born into one of England’s most prominent aristocratic families — now, she’s been arrested after 54 days on the run with a convicted rapist and their newborn child. Katie Strick reports

www.standard.co.uk

''The extraordinary disappearance of Constance Marten: aristocrat, Leeds graduate and Tatler It-girl​

....

''Much less is known about Gordon’s life in comparison. Birmingham-born, he is believed to have moved to Florida with his mother and half-siblings when he was young, before returning to the UK in around 2010. He lived in a rundown terraced house in Enfield, north London, opposite an off-licence and a nail bar, and it was in Ilford that he and Constance moved in together before being evicted. ...

<rsbm>

Somehow the above doesn't match up with what the article states further down:

"he is reportedly a convicted rapist who was deported from the US in 2014 after serving 20 years behind bars"

How could he have spent 20 years in a US prison, returned to the UK around 2010, but been deported from the US in 2014?

 

[swedepete]

I find it somewhat interesting that we haven´t seen any public/media comments from
Constance´s friends and teachers at St Mary´s School Shaftesbury (an all-girls private school in Dorset where I believe she was a pupil between ages 12-18) and at Leeds University, which she also attended for a time.
The Marten family certainly doesn´t have enough "power" to silence all these potential voices!
Very strange indeed...

 

[swedepete]

If one didn´t know the sad circumstances, this is otherwise such a beautiful picture of mother and baby! Look at that radiant smile....

I flipped her platform pic, so that her dress is on the correct side, along with the platform lettering.

View attachment 396202

 

[Earthwindfire]

I wonder what station that is, not that it's any help 2020 photo, just curious.

Sexual Offences Act 2003 - Explanatory Notes

www.legislation.gov.uk

Looking into this a bit further...

195.The provisions in subsection (3) reflect the partially retrospective arrangements that apply in respect of the application of the notification requirements to people with convictions etc. in the UK (see section 81). The relevant conviction, finding or caution abroad must have taken place on or after 1 September 1997, which was the commencement date for the 1997 Act. Findings or convictions that occurred before that date will only be a trigger for a notification order where the person had yet to be dealt with on 1 September 1997 or was still serving a sentence or was subject to supervision or otherwise detained in respect of that offence on that date.

I am far from a lawyer, however I think this means he would technically count? He was definitely still locked up when this Act came into effect in 1997, he was inside for the whole of the 90s.

I might be reading it wrong of course.

I thought the letters said Bristol Parkway.

 

[Telltale]

Since the press has publicly him linked to the case in Florida, I think its alright to post the publicly searchable case details. If not snip it out.

It has no detail on the actual case. It does show he pled not guilty and was convicted on Armed Kidnapping, four counts of Armed Sexual Batters (victim 12+) and Burglary with a Deadly Weapon, all occuring on 29th April 1989 when he was 14 1/2 or so. He got 40 years -4 in custody in 1994

He also got convicted of Burglary with a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Burglary from 21st May 1989, which he it looks like he got 20 concurrent.


The motions and hearings are interesting, for the first one looks like it was quite messy. I am no lawyer, nor do I have any experience with Florida law in the 1990s, however it looks like he originally took a plea, then went not guilty and got the book thrown at him.

 

[Telltale]

You know, while you of course cannot see any of the details of the case or what he did in 1989. I do feel pretty comfortable in saying had he been convicted of equivalent offences in the UK he would have caught less than 1/4 of that sentence. In fact I'd have been shocked if a then-14 year old got 10 years, even with the burglaries added on. (Am assuming the kidnapping was Florida's tying-up-to-commit-a- felony kind - makes sense for a burglary - could be wrong )

I went looking and even 15/16 year old violent predators convicted of multiple attacks on separate victims - most I found was a 12 year minimum. Hell, for juvenile murderers the sentencing guidelines start with a 12 (edit: now 14) year minimum, two 14 year olds got sentenced for a really vicious pre-planned murder and only got 15.

Though he did get sentenced in Florida in 1994 - peak crime wave and the tough on juvenile crime/ young black superpredator era - so probably not so surprising.

Not excusing his horrific offences by any measure, but it is a really marked difference.

Had he committed those crimes in the UK at 14, he almost certainly would have been out before his mid 20s. If before 1997, he may have never had to register as a SO at all, or it he'd have had it reviewed by now. Whether that's a good or bad thing I suppose is a matter of where you stand on rehabilitation and punishment - and whether more offending comes to light ofc.

 

[Littlegreenlady]

The details about MG finally being released in the press are interesting. Is it that the police are desperate to find C and baby, and hence have encouraged the press to disclose this as a way to make it all a bit more serious and discourage anyone helping to harbour the group? Or is it a case of the press looking for new angles on the story and finally doing some proper digging only to discover what we all uncovered days ago.

If it’s the first scenario then that makes me even more concerned for C and baby as the police must be truly concerned for their wellbeing

Sounds like the police are moving to harden public opinion against the couple and/or put the wind up anyone who might be sheltering them.

I figured it was about changing opinion. Some people really don't like social services and I can see maybe some people would want to help the couple escape the "evil social services" but annoucing this would definitely change peoples opinions and make them more likely to come forward. There are so many vigilante peadophile hunting groups out there, I wonder if they are hoping to harness people like them to help hunt?

 

[vivag30265]

Her estranged father has now made an appeal in the Independent