A mum who admitted hitting a 12-year-old boy with a paddle, after a heated confrontation with a group of youths, has been spared immediate custody. Fay Johnson was paddle boarding with her youngsters when they came by a group of 20 to 30 youngsters throwing mud and rocks at river users in St Annes Park, Bristol Crown Court heard.
When Johnson approached the group and challenged them about their behaviour, 12-year-old Antwon Forrest "stood up" to her. The court heard they pushed each other and in the course of the confrontation Johnson struck the boy to the head with her paddle, causing a head wound.
Johnson, 32, whose address has been witheld following online threats to her and her family, pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm after the incident in March last year. Judge Edward Burgess KC handed her a four-month jail term, suspended for six months.
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The judge told a tearful Johnson: "I recognise that the act of violence was wholly out of character for you. Unruly behaviour by a large group of youngsters sets the context, but it in no way justifies it as I think you fully accept."
Johnson was ordered to pay Antwon £500 compensation. She declined to comment as she left court.
After the hearing Antwon's nan Tania Palmer told Bristol Live: "I didn't want her to get a prison sentence. I wanted it to be suspended but I thought it would be a bit longer.
"Antwon is permanently scarred and he just wanted it dealt with. If it was dealt with in the beginning maybe it wouldn't have come to this."
Anton's aunt Antonia Forrest also said she had not wanted Johnson to be jailed. She said: "I'm the same as mum, I didn't want her to go to prison - I'm a mum myself. I wish something could have been done sooner but she's got her punishment." The women stressed that online threats made to Johnson had not eminated from their family.
Eshan Oarith, prosecuting, said witnesses decribed seeing a large group of youngsters throwing missiles at river users. Mr Oarith said Johnson approached them, asked them where their parents were and told tjhem they should not be throwing things.
The court heard a verbal altercation broke out between Johnson and Antwon, and in the course of a confrontation Johnson struck him with her paddle. He suffered a 1cm long cut to his forehead which was glued shut, the court heard.
Mr Oarith said people - including Johnson - called police. Police arrested Johnson at the scene, but then de-arrested her.
Bristol Live has reported how, three weeks later, police sent Antwon's family a letter informing them they would not be taking the matter further. That sparked a furious backlash with family members and supporters in Bristol sharing images of the boy’s injury on social media, and videos of Johnson threatening the group, which included children.
A campaign prompted Avon and Somerset police to eventually review their initial decision not to continue to investigate the incident. They then relaunched the investigation.
In October Avon and Somerset police and the Crown Prosecution Service charged Johnson with ABH. She pleaded guilty at her first court appearance in Bristol on Thursday, December 15.
Emma Martin, defending, said her client had not targeted Antwon due to his ethnicity. Mrs Martin said: "She's desperately ashamed of what she did. She is desperatley embarassed and remorseful."
Mrs Martin said her client had struck the boy, but was unclear as to the mechanics of how it happened. She said her client had received "terrifying" online threats as a result and had since moved house and changed jobs.
Police confirmed officers attended the incident and a woman was arrested, but later de-arrested and interviewed at a police station. They said statements were gathered and the outcome of this investigation was that, based on the evidence gathered at the time, no further action would be taken.
A review was immediately launched after senior officers became aware of this decision, following significant public concern.
The review resulted in a re-investigation led by a Detective Sergeant, with oversight from a senior officer, who also met with Antwon’s family to listen to their concerns and explain what actions were now being taken.
The re-investigation included a review of all available video footage, including new footage provided to the police, as well as identifying and taking statements from as many people who witnessed the incident as possible, re-examining 999 calls, compiling medical evidence and liaising with relevant partner agencies.
A file of evidence was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which later authorised a charge of causing actual bodily harm to be brought against Fay Johnson. Chief Inspector Mike Buck said: “We’re extremely grateful to Antwon and his family for meeting with us in person, so we could listen to their views and concerns, explain what action we were taking, and so we could offer our apologies for the outcome of the initial investigation and for the things we didn’t get right.
“This is an upsetting case of an assault on a young boy, which caused him actual bodily harm, and the weight of evidence gathered during the re-investigation has led to the defendant admitting the offence and being sentenced today. We’ve identified a number of learnings as a result of this case, including the fact the family should have been offered a right to review following the initial decision.
"We want to assure the family and the wider community that we welcome the scrutiny this case has brought and we’ll use the learnings to improve the way investigations are carried out. We recognise the strength of community concern following the initial outcome of this case and the perception that Antwon was treated differently because of his race.
“While we’ve found no evidence to suggest race played any part in the police decision to take no further action, we’ve listened deeply to the concerns and issues raised by the victim’s family and the wider community, and we’ll use the lessons from this investigation in the ongoing work we are doing under the National Race Action Plan – which is central to our mission to become an anti-racist organisation.
“A significant part of this plan will focus on improving our service to Black victims of crime, and we're exploring whether we can establish a clear set of standards to improve our performance and positive outcomes, because research shows Black victims of crime often do not feel they receive the same level of service as others, which can lead to under-reporting and a lack of trust and confidence in the police.
"Improving the service we offer to Black victims of crime is crucial if we are to increase community confidence and ensure we’re delivering outstanding policing to all our communities, and this case will form a central thread to our work under the Race Action Plan. In addition, between November and February, all neighbourhood and response officers are undergoing bespoke training to help us improve investigative standards – from securing evidence, to preparing case files and undertaking disclosure. While this training isn’t as a direct result of this case, it will help us improve the service to all victims of crime and achieve the justice they deserve.”
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