AddThis SmartLayers

Convict sentenced for court assault on weekly photographer

Shiraz AliA convict who assaulted a weekly newspaper photographer outside a court has been spared jail by a judge.

Shiraz Ali, pictured left, returned to the scene of the crime at Rotherham Magistrates Court where he admitted using threatening behaviour and assaulting Rotherham Advertiser photographer Steve Mettam on 7 July.

Mark Hughes, prosecuting, told the hearing Steve was outside court taking pictures of suspects involved in child sexual exploitation cases on the day of the incident.

Ali, 21, was at court with his father Qurban Ali, who has been charged with the indecent assault, rape and conspiracy to rape a girl under 16 and procuring a female under the age of 21 to have sex with another.

Mr Hughes said the defendant ran towards a BBC cameraman in a threatening way and pushed Mr Mettam into railings.

Rabina Ditta, defending, said Ali nearly tripped over the photographer, which agitated him, and felt protective over his 52-year-old father, who was vulnerable due to his visual impairment.

The court heard that when the attack took place, Ali was out on licence after being handed a seven-year prison sentence for grievous bodily harm in 2010.

His previous convictions also include assault, for which he was given a two-year discharge.

District Judge John Foster said Ali’s bad record of serious violence made this offence more serious.

He was given a 12-month community order with a 30-day rehabilitation requirement to address his temper.

Ali was also fined £10, ordered to pay £100 compensation, costs of £50, a £60 victim surcharge and £150 criminal court charge.

2 comments

You can follow all replies to this entry through the comments feed.
  • August 26, 2015 at 9:03 am
    Permalink

    Considering this guy’s record this sentence amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist – I’d be interested to hear what Steve thinks about this…

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(19)
  • August 26, 2015 at 11:38 am
    Permalink

    Yeah, the sentence is pretty rubbish. But then our judicial system is generally hopeless when it comes to dealing with serious, repeat offenders. The whole system seems to be designed to give people endless “second chances” which is fine for people who are mostly law abiding and only commit the occasional, uncharacteristic offence. But it doesn’t work for people like the charming fellow featured in this article.

    Report this comment

    Like this comment(22)