James White, a 39-year-old Manchester United supporter from St Michael’s Crescent in Stockton, Warwickshire, has been handed a 24-year prison sentence for a string of violent and sexual offences committed against a woman.
White was convicted at Warwick Crown Court on 9 June 2026 of all 14 charges brought against him, which encompassed rape, sexual assault, domestic abuse, threats to kill and intentional strangulation. He received his sentence on 20 August.
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The case has drawn particular public attention because White had already gained notoriety three years earlier. In 2023, he was prosecuted for wearing a football shirt that mocked the 97 Liverpool supporters who perished in the Hillsborough disaster.
That earlier conviction saw him banned from attending regulated football matches across the United Kingdom for four years and fined £1,000.
The Hillsborough shirt incident occurred during the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City on Saturday, 3 June 2023. White was photographed sporting a United jersey bearing the number 97 and the phrase “Not Enough” — a grotesque allusion to the Liverpool fans who were unlawfully killed at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.
District Judge Mark Jabbitt described the display as “hard to imagine a more… offensive reference to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.” The Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance condemned it as a “despicable act.”
White offered a peculiar explanation to police, claiming the shirt referred to his grandfather, who had died aged 97 “and didn’t have enough kids.”
He admitted the charge at Willesden Magistrates’ Court, where he was photographed smirking upon arrival. Beyond the fine and football banning order, Manchester United imposed an indefinite ban on White from all club activities.
The investigation into White’s latest offences was triggered by an emergency call at 1.08pm on 30 November 2025. A relative of the victim contacted police to report that she had been attacked, that White was armed with a knife, and that he remained inside the property.
The woman had managed to telephone the family member to alert him that she was in danger. White then fled the premises before officers arrived.
When police reached the victim, they found extensive bruising across her face along with further injuries to her back and torso. She revealed that White had previously threatened her with a blade and had used it to inflict a cut to her abdomen.
Officers tracked White down just 28 minutes later, at 1.36pm, locating him in a pub near the address. He was promptly arrested.
Subsequent enquiries established that White had subjected the woman to a sustained pattern of violence and sexual abuse spanning five weeks, from 17 October to 30 November 2025.
The full catalogue of offences for which he was found guilty comprised two counts of rape of a woman over 16, assault by penetration with a body part on a female aged 13 and over, engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour within a relationship, five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of threatening a person with a knife in a private place, threats to kill, and two counts of intentional strangulation.
White denied every charge put to him. The jury at Warwick Crown Court nonetheless returned guilty verdicts on all 14 counts following the trial, which concluded on 9 June 2026.
DC Baylie Cairns, the investigating officer from the Domestic Abuse and RASSO team, praised the victim’s courage in coming forward. “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 said.
DC Cairns described the ordeal as relentless. “Over the course of five weeks, James White subjected the victim to a campaign of horrific abuse, violence and sexual assaults,” she said. “She showed remarkable bravery and courage in speaking to me about the offences committed against her.”
The officer expressed hope that the lengthy sentence would bring some measure of solace. “White has now been sentenced to 24 years in prison, preventing him from posing a risk to the victim and others. While nothing can undo the harm caused, we hope this sentence offers her some comfort and reassurance that justice has been served.”
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