Four men jailed over Rotherham protest violence
Categories: Latest News
Friday December 16 2016
The Star reports on the sentencing of four men for their role in racially motivated clashes at a protest rally in Rotherham last September.
Seven men appeared before Sheffield Crown Court last December and pleaded not guilty to charges of violent disorder in connection with the Britain First rally in Rotherham on 5 September 2015. The 2015 rally was one of a series of far right protests occurring in Rotherham following the publication of the Jay report into child sexual grooming and the failings of statutory agencies in protecting vulnerable young girls from sex grooming and sexual exploitation.
The 2015 rally also resulted in the arrest of 12 Asian men dubbed the “Rotherham 12”. Ten of the men were acquitted at trial last month after successfully defending their actions as defensive and in response to provocations by the far right.
The Star today reports on the outcome of the trial relating to charges brought against far right protestors in their clashes with anti-racism campaigners at the same rally.
John Sheridan, 26; Daniel Lee Luty, 20; Dennis Farrell, 31, and Reece McLaren, 21 were found guilty of racially aggravated violent disorder.
Luty, Farrell and Sheridan each received two year jail terms, and McLaren was jailed for two years and eight months. All four men had their sentences increased by a third because of the “racial motivation of their actions”.
Three other men, Henry Fisher, 21; David Woodward, 48 and Andrew Thomas Fox, 48, were found not guilty.
Rotherham’s District Commander, Chief Superintendent Rob Odell, said: “Our criminal justice system is designed to allow both the prosecution and defence cases to be heard. Both sides of the argument have been heard in court throughout both trials, and in each trial, a jury has made their decision.
“We recognise that the outcome of these trials has created some consternation amongst elements of our community and we are committed to healing those relationships through listening, learning and working together.”