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Mark Gordon, who was found guilty of numerous sexual offenses, including rape, in Florida in 1989 when he was just 14 years old, had his past convictions unveiled to a jury during a retrial at the Old Bailey in London. Alongside his partner Constance Marten, Gordon is facing charges related to the gross negligence manslaughter of their newborn baby Victoria and for causing or allowing the death of a child, both of which they are denying. Victoria’s deteriorated body was discovered in a shopping bag within a shed at a Brighton allotment in March 2023.
The jury was informed about the details of Gordon’s prior crimes committed in the United States, which included breaking into a neighbor’s house in April 1989 while wearing a nylon stocking over his face, armed with a knife and hedge clippers. Gordon proceeded by forcing the woman inside the house to undress and attempted to rape her, followed by oral rape and other sexual assaults. He held her captive against her will for four and a half hours. Additionally, he broke into another property in May of the same year, attacking a male occupant with a shovel. This led to a 40-year prison sentence in the US, of which he served 22 years. During questioning, Gordon implied that he was coerced during his police interviews as a 14-year-old child without adult supervision.
In a twist, it was revealed that Marten’s family had enlisted private investigators on three separate occasions to monitor the couple’s activities. LSG, a company hired by Marten’s mother in 2016, successfully traced her daughter and captured some photos of the pair. Subsequently, Marten’s father employed LSG to arrange a meeting at a café. In 2021, a second company called Blackstone Consultancy was hired by Marten’s mother to conduct an investigation, known as “Operation Lynx,” into the couple’s lifestyle for two months, resulting in more photographs. The retrial is set to resume on Monday.
The proceedings in the courtroom shed light on Mark Gordon’s troubling criminal history from the late 1980s. Gordon’s narrative paints a troubling picture of a young individual engaged in violent and predatory behavior, as described by the jury. The addition of private investigators into the mix adds a layer of complexity to the case, showcasing the lengths Marten’s family went to in order to uncover details about the couple’s activities. As the retrial unfolds, the jury continues to delve into the past actions of Gordon and Marten, aiming to ascertain the truth behind the death of their child
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