Jail for London Metropolitan lecturer who turned 'gangster's moll' and helped her boyfriend after he 'executed' a rival

Rachel Kenehan outside Winchester Crown Court (PA)

A university lecturer turned "gangster's moll" has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for assisting her boyfriend and two others in their bid to escape after they "executed" a rival to their drugs gang.

Rachel Kenehan, who taught sociology and psychology at the London Metropolitan University, suffered a "spectacular fall from grace" after she became "infatuated" with Pierre Lewis who she met while carrying out charitable mentoring work for young offenders.

Kenehan, of Hewlett Road, London, E3, was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of assisting offenders, conspiracy to supply class A drugs and perverting the course of public justice.

Lewis, who turns 21 on Sunday, of Castlenau, Barnes, London, SW13, Jemmikai Orlebar-Forbes, 20, of Cloudesdale Road, London, SW17, and Isaac Boateng, 22, of Mill Farm Crescent, Hounslow, TW4, were found guilty of the murder of 23-year-old drug dealer Jahmel Jones, from Brixton, who was killed in Southampton, Hampshire.

They already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply drugs.

Lewis was jailed for a minimum of 29 years, Orlebar-Forbes for 31 years and Boateng for 30 years.

Sentencing Kenehan, Mr Justice Keith told the 35-year-old, who he described as being infatuated by Lewis: "If one was looking for stereotypes, you would be the gangster's moll.

"But that would be too facile a description of you. You are a woman of many talents, hugely gifted with intellect, ambition and drive, with qualities of generosity and kindness which have so impressed the many people who spoke so highly of you in the course of the trial.

"The fact is that had you not met Lewis, you would not be where you are now. Whether you will be able to pursue your career in the future is now highly questionable.

"That is the real punishment for you, and although you must, of course, go to prison, you would, I think, have been punished twice over if I did not significantly reduce the sentences I would otherwise have passed to reflect your spectacular fall from grace, and the indignity of being at the receiving end of the system which you studied and taught with such conspicuous success."

He added: "All of this, of course, will have a profound effect on your career, but I conclude by expressing the hope that you can one day return to the field of criminology in which you have so much to contribute, with the advantage of the new perspective you will have having seen the system in operation from the inside."

The judge added: "I want to say something to the family of Jahmel Jones. Whatever else can be said of him, he did not deserve to die. I was greatly moved by the victim impact statement from his mother, and I want his family to know that I have taken into account the terrible effect that his death has had on their lives. I wish to express to them my own condolences for their loss."

Following the conviction, Sarah Dineley, District Crown Prosecutor for the CPS in Wessex, said: "It is difficult to understand in this case how Rachel Kenehan, a university lecturer who was completing her PhD in criminology threw away her promising career and future to be involved in the criminal activities of her young boyfriend Pierre Lewis and his two co-defendants.

"These criminal activities led to the brutal death of Jahmel Jones, who had also chosen to lead a criminal lifestyle.

"She met Pierre Lewis through her charitable mentoring work with young male offenders with the aim of reducing their re-offending on release from prison.

"However, she failed to observe the boundaries that were set out by the charity between mentors and offenders and became infatuated with him.

"Her actions in this criminal enterprise showed the extent of that infatuation and what lengths she was prepared to go to for her boyfriend."

Describing the murder, Ms Dineley continued: "Jahmel Jones had selected the St Mary's area of Southampton to sell crack cocaine and heroin.

"He was quite established in Southampton and would regularly deal from flats belonging to drug users.

"Forbes, Lewis and Boateng had also chosen the St Mary's area in which to ply their drugs and they became rivals of Jones.

"They would travel back and forth from London to Southampton bringing with them crack and heroin.

"They would stay free of charge in flats belonging to addicts in return for drugs.

"They believed Jones had robbed them of drugs and as a result sought retribution - the retribution was execution by shooting.

"Once the killing was done, they fled back to London with the assistance of Kenehan who picked them up from Basingstoke and they all returned to her home where they stayed for three days.

"Whilst there is no evidence that she knew that they had planned to kill Jahmel Jones, the jury at Winchester Crown Court heard how she assisted them and went to great efforts to destroy the evidence.

"The evidence also showed how she also assisted the defendants in their supply of drugs by paying in excess of £4,000 for hire cars for the numerous trips that the defendants made to Southampton."

She added: "Our thoughts are with the family of Jahmel Jones at this time."

PA