CPS West Midlands: Successful Hate Crime Cases - March 2024
In March 2024, the CPS West Midlands Magistrates’ and Crown Court units successfully prosecuted various hate crime cases. Below are some of the cases.
A 19-year-old Mansfield man has been sentenced after he directed homophobic abuse at a railway worker. On 8 November 2023, the defendant, who was drunk, was causing a disturbance on a train. A member of staff boarded the train at Derby and asked him to leave the train due to the distress caused to other passengers. He agreed to do so but when the member of staff tried to assist him, the defendant spat at him and directed homophobic abuse at him. He was charged with being drunk and disorderly and the CPS added a further charge of assault. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing and was sentenced at Derby Street Magistrates’ Court on 13 March 2024 to an 18-month community order. He was informed that the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days had been increased to reflect the hate crime. He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to the member of staff.
The 75-year-old defendant from Herefordshire harassed his neighbour by repeatedly shouting hate speech about his neighbour’s disability. He also threatened him, banged on his walls and window, and played loud music. The defendant pleaded guilty to harassment on his trial date of 11 March 2024 at Hereford Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced on the same day to a community order which had been increased by two months to reflect the hate crime.
A 57-year-old Telford man has been sentenced for racially abusing a pub staff member who refused to serve him. On 8 August 2023, the defendant who was drunk, was causing a disturbance at a pub in Telford and had smashed ash trays. When he was told that he would not be served, he racially abused a member of staff at the pub. He was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence and with criminal damage. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing and was sentenced at Telford Magistrates’ Court on 12 March 2024. He received a community order which had been increased to reflect the hate crime. He was ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim of the racist abuse and £5 compensation for the damaged ash tray.
On 5 October 2023, the 42-year-old Wolverhampton man, attended the Aston Villa v Zrinjski Mostar match at Villa Park. He was drunk and punched a steward who went to speak to him. Other stewards attended to speak to him and he threatened them, pushed one of them and grabbed the coat of another member of staff. He then racially abused police officers who arrested him and kicked one of them. The defendant was charged with three assaults, a racially aggravated public order offence, assaulting an emergency worker and obstructing an officer. He pleaded guilty and received a community order on 15 March 2024 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court which had been increased to reflect the hate crime. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation to each of the five victims and a four-year football banning order was imposed.
On 1 February 2024, the 50-year-old defendant from Bath was travelling by train where she racially abused the victims, who were in the UK on holiday. She also screamed in the face of one of them and they feared that they would be assaulted. The defendant was charged with two racially aggravated public order offences. She pleaded guilty at the first hearing and was sentenced at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 7 March 2024. She received a community order which had been increased to reflect the hate crime.
A 27-year-old Birmingham man has been sentenced after admitting that he racially abused a police officer while he was being transported to police custody for an unrelated matter. The defendant pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court on 2 November 2023 to one count of racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress following the incident on 8 April 2023. He was sentenced at the same court on 7 March 2024 to eight weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge. During his sentencing, the judge remarked that without the racial aggravation, the sentence would have been a community order.
A 37-year-old man from Birmingham was sentenced for racially abusing a bus inspector who told a passenger who did not have a valid ticket to get off the bus. The defendant was charged with racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and denied the offence when he first appeared before Birmingham Magistrates’ Court in March 2022. However, he changed his plea to guilty at his trial in May 2022 and his matter was committed to the Crown Court for sentence on 20 June 2022. The defendant failed to attend court on this date, but was later arrested after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 7 March 2024 to two weeks' imprisonment for this offence. The judge said that the sentence had been uplifted due to the racial element.