LAINDON: PROTECT SEX PEST SAYS JUDGE
A judge has urged police to hunt down a mob who beat up a sex offender so badly he still cannot eat properly.Judge Frank Lockhart sternly ordered the police to prioritize efforts to catch the attackers.
Ali Hayder, aged 32, pleaded guilty at Basildon Crown Court to indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Laindon last December and was sentenced to six months in jail.
The court heard that Hayder had chatted up the girl, grabbed her breasts, and caused her to tears, despite a court bail condition that he should not contact her.
Shortly after the assault, Hayder was subjected to a savage attack by a mob, which caused him serious injuries including a broken jaw.
He was hospitalized at Basildon Hospital and remains unable to eat properly.
The judge expressed concern that the perpetrators of the attack had not yet been caught, stating, "I hope police will give priority in trying to catch the people responsible for this attack.
They should be brought to justice as soon as possible and dealt with most severely." Prosecutor Michael Horsley added that Hayder had been staring at the girl and repeatedly pestered her for contact details before kissing her on the neck, which distressed her greatly.
Hayder's barrister, David Epstein, suggested the attack was retribution, claiming Hayder was worried for his family and feared going out in Basildon town center.
Epstein also noted that Hayder had reported the attack to the police but had heard nothing back.
The judge also requested that newspapers do not publish Hayder's address to protect his family from further suffering.
Hayder's name will be registered in the national sex offenders' register for the next seven years.
