CPS West Midlands: Successful Hate Crime Cases August 2023
In August 2023, the CPS West Midlands Magistrates' and Crown Court units successfully prosecuted various hate crime cases. Below are some of the cases.
A 24-year-old Tipton woman has been sentenced to a community order after she repeatedly hurled racist slurs at a man and threatened him. On 9 October 2021, the defendant made threats towards the victim before swinging a butter knife in his direction and striking him in the face with her fist. She denied the offences but later admitted possession of a bladed article and racially aggravated assault by beating on the day of the trial. She was sentenced on 23 August 2023 at Wolverhampton Crown Court to an 18-month community order which was increased from 12 months due to the racial aggravation. She was ordered to complete 20 days rehabilitation activity requirement (RAR) and a mental health requirement.
A 35-year-old man from Coventry has been imprisoned after he pleaded guilty to hurling vile racial abuse at a social worker during a telephone conversation. He also made further racially abusive comments by text message and email. He was sentenced to 36 weeks imprisonment on 14 August 2023 at Warwick Crown Court. The sentencing judge commented that the sentence would have been 18 weeks without the racial aggravation.
A 38-year-old prisoner has received an extra 47-month imprisonment at the end of his sentence after he pleaded guilty to racially and physically assaulting a fellow inmate. On 23 March 2022, the defendant threw hot oil from a saucepan over the victim and racially abused him. As a result of the attack, the victim sustained significant burns. The defendant who was already serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was sentenced on 31 August 2023 to 47 months imprisonment to run consecutively to his existing sentence which extended his earliest release date by a further 47 months. The sentencing judge commented that the sentence was increased due to the hate crime element.
A 33-year-old Birmingham man has been sentenced for racially abusing two police officers. On 8 July 2023, the defendant repeatedly racially abused the officers who attended the scene following a report of a disorder. He also spat at one of them. He was charged with assaulting an emergency worker and two counts of causing racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing and was sentenced on 2 August 2023 at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court to a total of 24 weeks imprisonment and was ordered to pay £250 compensation to the victims.
A 71-year-old Coventry man, who assaulted and threatened his wife and racially abused her daughter from a previous relationship, has been sentenced. On 9 August 2023, the man pleaded guilty to racially/religiously aggravated common assault/beating at Coventry Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced to a 12-month community order to include 240 hours of unpaid work which had been increased by 40 to reflect the hate crime. He was ordered to pay £200 compensation to the victim and was made subject of a two-year restraining order. He was ordered not to contact her except through solicitors in relation to family law matters or attend the road she lived on.
A 50-year-old Birmingham man who racially abused his neighbour and two police officers has been sentenced. On 22 May 2023, the man racially abused and threatened his neighbour during an argument, and he also repeatedly racially abused one of the police officers who responded to the call and spat directly into their face. Once at the police station, he racially abused another officer and urinated in the police cell. He was charged with racially/religiously aggravated common assault/beating, racially / religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress, assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage. He initially denied the charges but later changed his plea on 18 August 2023 on the trial date. He was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on the same date to 18 weeks imprisonment for the racially aggravated assault which had been increased to reflect the hate crime. He also received a further 16 weeks imprisonment for the assault which received a hate crime uplift. He was ordered to pay £150 compensation, £350 costs, £187 victim surcharge and made subject of a two-year restraining order.
A 28-year-old Telford man was sentenced to an 18-month community order after he was convicted for making antisemitic and racist comments. He was convicted of causing racially and religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and was sentenced at Telford Magistrates’ Court on 1 August 2023. He received an 18-month community order which had been increased by six months to reflect the hate crime. He was ordered to attend a 19 day Thinking Skills programme and to undertake 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was also ordered to pay £100 fine, £350 costs and the £95 victim surcharge.
A 28-year-old man of no fixed abode pleaded guilty on 15 August 2023 to racially abusing a customer, threatening a staff member at a Kidderminster venue, racially abusing a police officer, and directing homophobic abuse at another officer. He received a total custodial sentence of 35 weeks which had been increased to reflect the racist and homophobic hate crime and was ordered to pay a total of £450 to the complainants.