Ex-England star gets suspended jail term as court told he was product of rape

Former Sale Sharks starlet Mark Jennings has received a suspended prison sentence following his attempt to run from police after copping his third drink-related driving offence.

Jennings, 28, was almost tasered after fleeing from his ex-girlfriend’s Mini Cooper in Stretford, Greater Manchester, on June 15, when he also refused to provide a breath sample.

It was the ex- England under-20 international’s third such infringement. He had a drink-driving conviction in 2017 before being banned for three years after he was again caught in 2019 driving while more than twice the legal limit.

Jennings was reported to have been “smelling of intoxicants” when officers made the most recent arrest, leading police on a chase after he was pulled over in the Chester Road Retail Park.

The court passed down the sentence after hearing Jennings was sent on a downward spiral in 2016, when he learnt he was the product of ‘a savage rape’.

Jennings — who became the youngest player to sign a professional contract with Sale at age 16 — was born in Namibia but moved to England as a young child after he was adopted.

His lawyer, Robert Mann, explained it was following a stint in a Cape Town rehab clinic that he sought to discover more about the identity of his birth father.

Jennings also refused to give a blood sample at the station on night of June 15, as Mann detailed: “He makes no issues with the offences against him today. He accepts he was the driver and accepts he was disqualified from driving and that he refused to give a blood sample. It was a deliberate refusal.

“He smelt strongly of intoxicants but there was no slurred speech, nor was he unsteady on his feet. This defendant has seen a spectacular fall from grace. He had an unhappy start to life and was abandoned. He was adopted and brought to the UK. He had suffered violence and bullying in his primary years.

“But he excelled at rugby, was picked up by Sale Sharks and was the youngest ever player to sign a contract – he was 16 at the time. He has had caps in the England international set up. However, in 2016 as a result of his injuries, he was forced to step down from the first team and he became addicted to painkillers because of his injuries. That was the beginning of his slide.

“He decided he wanted to investigate where he came from and to discover his birth mother. She said that she had been raped. He had been the product of the rape and that is why he went into care.

“He made some unpleasant discoveries that troubled him greatly but rather speaking then friends, he went inside himself pushing everyone away and turned to drunk and drugs to deal with his problems. He did not want to admit that he was struggling and that he had any problems. That has led to a rake of offences all time (sic) do with drink.”

Jennings spoke to Sky Sports in May 2020 and said he was approaching 150 days of sobriety at the time, having experienced addiction to alcohol, cannabis, painkillers and cocaine since his teen years.

He further explained that rugby was the perfect distraction from his personal struggles, struggling with loneliness and depression “from an early age.”

"It was like a switch in my head. Every time I was away from playing, or as soon as I'd finish a game my mind would go straight back to that darkness,” he continued.

"I'd want to drink, I'd want to take drugs.”

Jennings — who has been convicted for possession of cocaine — was also arrested in 2019 for head-butting a police officer and threatening to rape another.

The incident occurred during ‘a drunken argument’ at the Hale home of ex-partner Holly Atkins, with whom he shares a young daughter.

Mann went on to explain his client has been diagnosed with “ADHD, anxiety and depression,” alleging Atkins’ refusal to allow Jennings to see his daughter had acted as another trigger.

“Fortuitously, there is no accident involved here. This happened after an argument with his partner, he gets in his car and has driven off. He was told at the last occasion that he was at risk of going to prison and that led to an overdose od (sic) paracetamol and he was in hospital for three and a half weeks.

“He has been abstinent from alcohol for a period of six weeks and his focus is on remaining clean, securing employment and having contact with his daughter. He can make progress. He is still a young man and is employable giving his history. He has started coaching the grassroots in rugby. There is hope.

“The prisons are overloaded and under-staffed, these offences are non-violent and non-sexual so he would likely only serve four weeks behind the door. He would lose his accommodation, it would disrupt his treatment and possibly serve as demoralising progress.

“To send him to prison is very easy but in my submission, that will lead to him coming back before the court. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

Jennings was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment (suspended for two years) for failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving whilst disqualified.

He was also ordered to complete a six-month alcohol treatment programme, banned from driving for four years and told to pay £213 in ‘costs and surcharges’.

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