Teenager jailed for raping two girls after convictions upheld on appeal

An 18-year-old has been jailed for raping two girls after they were forced to give evidence for a second time when he appealed against his convictions.

The crimes of Sam Bewster, from the Redcar and Cleveland area, were first reported to police in April 2024, when he was a juvenile.

Police launched an investigation and Brewster was charged with numerous offences and stood trial in August 2025.

He was convicted of numerous offences following the trial but later launched an appeal against his convictions.

The appeal was heard at Teesside Crown Court in March 2026.

During the appeal process, the two girls were required to provide evidence to the court again, with two rape convictions ultimately upheld.

On Wednesday (Aug 19), a year after he was first convicted, Brewster, now 18, was sentenced to three years in prison for his crimes.

Detective Constable Jack McPhillips said: “Both of the victims in this case were extremely brave in coming forward and giving evidence. They had the trauma of having to go through this difficult process twice over in court, in addition to multiple last-minute adjournments and having to relive their nightmare again and again.

“This has caused great distress in the girls’ lives and massively disrupted their education. I hope today’s sentence will bring some closure for the girls, so that they can now begin to rebuild their lives.

“I would like to thank the support workers from Arch Teesside who were incredibly helpful and supportive throughout the investigation and subsequent trials.”