A man who ran a teeth-whitening and tanning salon in Plymouth has been jailed for 26 years for a series of rapes and sexual assaults against women, including customers of his business whom he lured with offers of free treatment.
Ricky Stubberfield, 31, attacked seven victims over a period of 11 years, between 2013 and 2024, with some of the assaults taking place at the Essex Smiles salon on Mutley Plain when he was the co-owner and manager.
Stubberfield contacted a number of women on Instagram and offered free treatment in exchange for promoting his business but when they attended their appointments he made sexual advances and then assaulted them. Other offences were carried out by Stubberfield in a variety of locations around Plymouth.
Stubberfield, from Plympton in Devon, was sentenced at Plymouth crown court on Tuesday to 26 years in prison and a further six on extended licence after being found guilty of 23 offences including rape, sexual assault, assault by penetration, making indecent images of a child, and exposure. He will have to sign the sex offender register for life.
The offences covered a period between December 2013 and June 2024. Stubberfield ran the salon between 2022 and 2024.
During a trial in June, a court heard Stubberfield first came to the attention of police in February 2022 when a 16-year-old girl reported that he had sexually abused her on two occasions that month.
On one night he raped her in the disabled toilet during a concert at the Plymouth Pavilions venue and later in the back of his van, the court heard.
On the second occasion, the victim was at a house with a friend and Stubberfield. Throughout the night he carried out multiple rapes and other sexual offences against her while telling her to be quiet, the court heard.
Some of the offences were captured during a FaceTime call to her friend after Stubberfield brazenly pulled her out of view to sexually assault her and forced her to commit a sexual act upon him.
Unknown to Stubberfield his actions were reflected in a nearby cooker hood and seen by the caller who shouted out to stop him, the court heard. She had also recorded the call and provided this to police.
In 2024 a woman reported that she had been abused by Stubberfield at Essex Smiles, the court heard. After a third report in 2024, Stubberfield was arrested and charged with multiple offences.
A media report prompted other victims to come forward. Some believed they were the only one and Stubberfield’s sexualised behaviour had often been dismissed as being “just Ricky” by those who knew him, the court heard.
Between 2022 and 2024 Stubberfield abused five women, all in their 20s, at a salon. Once in the treatment chair with a mouth guard in, he took advantage and sexually assaulted them, asked for photos and made repeated forceful sexual advances.
The fifth woman was accompanied by her toddler when she went to buy a product from the salon. Stubberfield asked her out on a date which she declined. He then showed her a picture of his genitals before pulling down his trousers to expose himself.
In 2013 he sexually assaulted a woman he met on a dating site, forcing himself upon her before she was able to get away, the court heard.
Another victim encountered Stubberfield in 2021 and was raped twice before he asked her if she “fancied a Nando’s”, the court heard.
His victims were aged between 16 and 27 at the time of the offences.
Sentencing Stubberfield on Tuesday, Judge Linford said: “Your behaviour was utterly remorseless predation.”
He described the offending as “part of your personality”, which was “very worrying”, and said Stubberfield posed a very high risk of harm to the public.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
