Teenager jailed after unrest to be released as court of appeal alters sentence

7 November 2024, 16:16

A teenager jailed for violent disorder amid unrest which broke out following the Southport stabbings will be released from detention after his sentence was suspended at the Court of Appeal.

Ozzie Cush, Paul Williams, Dylan Willis and Aminadab Temesgen all received prison or detention terms of between 10 months and two years two months.

At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, judges were told that each of the sentences were "harsh" and "manifestly excessive" and should be reduced in what are thought to be the first appeals related to the summer unrest.

And in their ruling, three judges quashed Willis' original sentence of 14 months' detention for violent disorder after the then-18-year-old smashed a restaurant window during disorder in Middlesbrough.

His sentence was changed to 14 months in a young offenders institution, suspended for two years, with up to 40 days of rehabilitation activity.

Mr Justice Bennathan, sitting with the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and Lord Justice Holroyde, said: "We have concluded that this court should interfere with the decision below."

Willis, appearing via video link from Holme House prison, appeared emotional as the decision was read out.

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The three judges dismissed appeals from Cush and Williams and altered then-19-year-old Temesgen's sentence from 14 months in prison to 14 months in youth detention due to his age.

Baroness Carr said the disorder earlier this year was "fuelled by misinformation and far right sentiment, spreading to various towns and cities across the nation".

She added: "In the context of widespread and significant public disorder, it is not only the precise individual acts of an offender that matter.

"It is the fact that the offender is taking part in violent disorder, threatening violence against other people or property, and is part and parcel of widespread threatening and alarming activity.

"That is the gravamen of the offending: being one of those who, by weight of numbers, pursues a common and unlawful purpose.

"Thus, whilst what an individual offender may have done themselves is of relevance, their acts must not be taken in isolation."

Earlier on Thursday, Alex Granville, for Cush, said there was "significant mitigation for each appellant and significant circumstances", which may not have been properly considered.

He later told the court that an immediate prison sentence is not the only way to deter potential offenders.

The barrister continued: "Suspended sentences hanging over a defendant's head, while subject to other forms of punitive work can act as a deterrent but can also act as rehabilitation."

The Crown Prosecution Service responded to the appeals.

Duncan Atkinson KC, for the body, said that each of the sentencing judges took the correct approach.

He said: "Whilst context is not everything, it is extremely important to sentencing in cases such as this.

"Each of these offenders in their different ways were sentenced for participating in different ways."

The barrister added: "It is clear that each of the judges was aware they had to assess the incident and its impact before going on to assess the role of the individual."

Cush, 20, from Reading, was jailed for 10 months after pleading guilty to assaulting an emergency worker during a protest in central London.

Williams, then 45, was jailed for two years and two months in August after he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police after goading officers during the rioting in Sunderland on August 2.

Temesgen, from Plymouth, was given a 14-month prison sentence after throwing bottles at police in August, which has now been altered to take place in youth detention.