A man previously convicted over a shirt mocking victims of the Hillsborough disaster has been jailed for 24 years after subjecting a woman to weeks of rape, strangulation, knife threats and violent assaults.
James White, 36, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court following offences committed between October 17 and November 30, 2025.
The court heard that White carried out a sustained campaign of sexual and physical violence against the victim, leaving her with bruising to her face, back and torso as well as a knife wound to her abdomen.
His offending included rape, assault by penetration, controlling or coercive behaviour, intentional strangulation, threats to kill and repeated assaults.
Victim disclosed abuse to relative
Police became involved after the victim told a relative what had been happening.
On November 30, officers were called to an address in Stockton, Warwickshire, after White allegedly threatened to kill the woman with a knife.
He fled before police arrived but was later found at a nearby pub and arrested.
Detectives subsequently uncovered a wider pattern of offending over the previous five weeks.
White was convicted of two counts of rape, assault by penetration, controlling or coercive behaviour, five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of threatening with a knife, threats to kill and two counts of intentional strangulation.
DC Baylie Cairns, from the Domestic Abuse and RASSO team, praised the victim’s “remarkable bravery and courage”.
She said: “The victim escaped the cycle of abuse by having the courage to tell a family member it was taking place, at which point we were called and were able to take action against her abuser.”
She added that White’s imprisonment would prevent him from posing a risk to the victim and others.
Previous Hillsborough conviction
White had previously attracted national attention after attending the 2023 FA Cup Final wearing a Manchester United shirt bearing the words “97 – Not Enough”, widely understood as a reference to the 97 Liverpool supporters unlawfully killed in the Hillsborough disaster.
He claimed the wording referred to his grandfather’s age, but that explanation was rejected by the court.
District Judge Mark Jabbitt described the wording as an extremely offensive reference to Hillsborough.
White was fined £1,000, ordered to pay £485 in costs and given a four-year football banning order.
He will now serve a lengthy prison sentence for the later sexual and violent offences.
