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Man who pulled niqab from woman in Newcastle shopping centre appears in court

Man who pulled niqab from woman in Newcastle shopping centre appears in court

Categories: Latest News

Tuesday February 07 2017

 The Guardian and BBC News report on the court hearing of a man who admitted ripping the niqab off a Muslim woman at a shopping centre in Sunderland in July 2015.

Peter Scotter, 55, shouted “you are in our country now” when he attacked his victim, who was waiting for her husband outside a shop with her 9-year-old son. 

At previous court hearings, Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim was standing outside a store in Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland when Scotter “purposefully” walked towards her and grabbed her niqab.

The court heard the force used almost threw the victim to the ground, causing her niqab to come away, exposing her and resulting in “pain to her neck”.

Prosecutor Laura Lax told the court how the victim had later described the impact of the attack on her. The victim said: “This incident has left me scared to go out and I don’t want to go into town again. I am disgusted my nine-year-old son had to witness this.”

The Guardian reports that another witness heard Scotter shout, “Here, take that f****** off, you are in our country now, you stupid f****** Muslim.”

When a police officer arrived to arrest Scotter, he tried to walk away before unleashing further racist abuse. Scotter is reported to have said “Our Britain, you live by our f****** rules.”

Lax told the court that Scotter “continued to make derogatory comments when he was interviewed after his arrest.” 

Scotter admitted charges of racially aggravated assault by beating and racially aggravated harassment at a previous hearing.

Mitigating for Scotter, Barrister Tony Hawks, said his client had recently been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour under his tongue and was due to undergo surgery. 

Scotter is due to appear in court for sentencing on 17 March, 2017. Judge Earl told Scotter he would be sentenced in three weeks’ time and granted him conditional bail. The judge said Scotter’s offences fell within a “custodial-band sentence” because of “his record and the nature of his actions” but that he would reserve sentencing until he had heard “more details about the diagnosis.”

Scotter has an astonishing criminal history, with the Guardian reporting he has 66 previous convictions for 157 offences, including offences of actual bodily harm, racially aggravated criminal damage and breaching a football banning order.

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