Mark Cavendish robbery: two men jailed for knife point raid
Peta Cavendish says the family may sell their Essex home “due to the continuing fear”
Two men have been jailed for robbing Mark Cavendish and his family at knife point in his family home in Essex.
Ramrio Henry and Ali Sesay broke into the Tour de France stage win record holders home in November 2021.
Sesay pleaded guilty some time ago but Henry had denied his part in the robbery but was found guilty last month.
Earlier today Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced Henry to 15 years in prison while Sesay was given a 12 year sentence, according to a BBC report.
In January the court heard how the pair broke into the Cavendish family home wearing balaclavas and put Mark Cavendish in a headlock with a knife to his throat.
The robbers then forced the family to hand over phones, a safe and two Richard Mille watches values at £400,000 and £300,000, among other items.
The BBC quotes Peta Cavendish as telling the court how the crime had "turned a loving family home into a constant reminder of threat and fear".
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She said the couple were thinking of selling the property “due to the continuing fear” but were set to make a “considerable loss” if they did so in the current economic climate.
During the raid she had been forced to hide her three-year-old child under the duvet to stop them seeing what was going on.
Speaking to the the assembled press outside the court after the sentencing hearing Peta Cavendish added: "No family should ever have to go through what we went through and I'm glad that two of the people have been sent to jail today for significant periods of time.
"But no matter what the sentence was any parent will understand, I'm sure, that no time in prison could make up for what they did to us that night."
Essex Police are still trying to locate two men George Goddard and Jo Jobson in relation to the incident.
Detective Inspector Tony Atkin, from Essex Police, said: "The strength the Cavendish family has shown since this incident, throughout the investigation and throughout the trial has been incredible.”
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Having trained as a journalist at Cardiff University I spent eight years working as a business journalist covering everything from social care, to construction to the legal profession and riding my bike at the weekends and evenings. When a friend told me Cycling Weekly was looking for a news editor, I didn't give myself much chance of landing the role, but I did and joined the publication in 2016. Since then I've covered Tours de France, World Championships, hour records, spring classics and races in the Middle East. On top of that, since becoming features editor in 2017 I've also been lucky enough to get myself sent to ride my bike for magazine pieces in Portugal and across the UK. They've all been fun but I have an enduring passion for covering the national track championships. It might not be the most glamorous but it's got a real community feeling to it.
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