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West Midlands man sentenced for hate crime (17 November 2015)

Date: 17/11/2015
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, West Midlands man sentenced for hate crime

A 68-year-old man from Pleck in the West Midlands has been convicted of a criminal offence relating to racially/religiously aggravated intentional harassment/alarm/distress – words/writing.

Over a 72-hour period starting on 1 July 2015, Francesco Riccobono put up posters which contained racist drawings and anti-Islamic writing, in and around the Wednesbury Road and the Aisha Mosque on Rutter Street in Walsall.

On Friday 3 July, two police officers were visiting the mosque and were approached by a witness, who informed them that they had seen a man putting up the offensive posters. The officers called out to the defendant, who ran off – however, officers later caught him and arrested him.

Following a search of the defendant's home, police also discovered copies of the offensive posters, as well as items used to stick them to walls.

At Walsall Magistrates' Court, Francesco Riccobono pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay fines totalling £560.

After the hearing, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service, Lionel Idan, said:

“Being targeted because of a person's beliefs can be very damaging and isolating.

“People from all communities have a right to be protected from the prejudice that lies at the heart of religious hate crime – and the Crown Prosecution Service is determined to play its part in tackling such offensive behaviour.

“To this end, we have specialist hate crime prosecutors who are experienced in dealing with cases of religious hate crime; and – as today's conviction demonstrates – where the evidence in a case establishes that a crime took place because of hostility towards a person's religion, our prosecutors will ensure that this is pursued before the courts as an aggravating feature of the offence and reflected in any sentence passed.”

Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers

Duncan Lewis can advise at any stage of a hate crime, including crime involving racially/religiously aggravated intentional harassment/alarm/distress – or any offence relating to protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, including allegations of hate crime involving a person’s sexuality (eg homophobic crime) or gender.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and a criminal defence lawyer can usually reach a police station within an hour to advise at interview under caution.

Duncan Lewis can also advise on charges relating to public order offences, such as graffiti, affray, criminal damage and anti-social behaviour or alcohol-related violence.

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