80 year old man jailed for "sadistic" historic violence against women in Middlesbrough
An 80 year old man - who was discovered by Interpol, living in Thailand - has been jailed for almost 20 years - after being found guilty of historic violent offences, including imprisoning women in his Middlesbrough flat and assaulting them
An 80-year-old man has today been jailed for nineteen years for historic violence offences against women which were described as “sadistic” in court.
Vincent Agar, formerly of Middlesbrough, was extradited from Thailand in 2025 to face justice, following a six-year investigation.
Agar came to the attention of officers as part of enquiries carried out through Operation Pandect, an investigation into three historic murders of young women in Middlesbrough.
As part of the investigation, officers interviewed dozens of women as potential witnesses.
Two women provided evidence at court to say that they had been subject to extreme violence by Agar and imprisoned within his house. One woman was imprisoned and threatened with violence after she visited his flat and witnessed another woman tied to a radiator.
During separate incidents between 1998 and 2000, the women were subjected to violence including being cut with knives and assaulted with a belt, hammer and glass bottle. They were also burnt using a kettle, iron and cigarettes.
Both had to escape Agar’s flat, which even had a trap door to prevent access in and out.
Officers carried out enquiries with Thai authorities and Interpol, after he was found to be living on the island of Koh Samui.
Agar was offered the opportunity to be interviewed by police in the UK, but he would not return voluntarily. He was finally extradited to the UK in 2025 where he was charged with a series of offences including grievous bodily harm with intent, false imprisonment, actual bodily harm, threats to kill and supplying a class A drug.
Agar denied all the offences at court and the victims had to endure a trial lasting over three-weeks.
In a victim impact statement given to the court, one of the victims said she would “never be able to fully recover” and will be affected for the “rest of her life”.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Peter Carr, said: “I would first of all like to thank the victims in this case for their bravery in coming forward and their patience throughout this whole six-year investigation. They have re-lived their ordeals through court, as Agar denied all of the offences.
“Following a trial the jury found him guilty. This case is a demonstration that no matter how long the passage of time, we will take action against those who commit such horrendous criminal offences and we will not tolerate violence against women and girls.
“I would also like to thank the investigation team and everyone involved in the extradition of Agar which was a prolonged process, including the Crown Prosecution Service.
“I hope today’s sentence provides some comfort to those affected by Vincent Agar’s offending. Our communities are now protected from him, and justice has been served.”
Judge Richard Bennett told Agar: “Your offending has now caught up with you” as he jailed him for 19 years at Durham Crown Court today.
He went on to commend Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Peter Carr, and Police Staff Investigators Mark Rayner and Stephen Burke,and CPS colleagues, for their “exceptional” work on the case.