Two women fined for racist abuse of Iranian doorman

Categories: Latest News
Monday April 25 2016
The Sunderland Echo reports on the sentencing of two women who subjected an Iranian doorman to a 20 minute tirade of racist abuse outside Illusions nightclub in Sunderland city centre.
Sunderland Magistrates’ Court heard that Kimberley McLeod, 27 and Jodie Connolly, 19 had been out drinking at the nightclub in the early hours of March 1, 2016.
The two women had been ejected from the nightclub and were standing outside having a smoke. The doorman, who is of Iranian descent, went over to tell the women to move away from the door to avoid smoke being blown in the direction of the entrance.
Connolly then began swearing racist abuse at the doorman, abuse so offensive that the local paper has chosen not to print it.
Connolly told the doorman, “You, you come into my country and think you can tell me what to do. You stink, do you have a bomb?”
McLeod joined in telling the doorman “You shouldn’t work in a pub, you should work in a curry place.”
The doorman went into the nightclub to avoid the women but the abuse continued “for 20 minutes”.
The paper reports that the women desisted only after “a member of staff flagged down a passing police car” and the two of them were arrested.
Prosecutor Paul Doney told the court the victim felt he had been targeted for the abuse “because of his ethnic appearance and accent.”
In a victim personal statement read out in court, the Iranian victim said: “This incident has made me feel extremely upset.
“I’ve been in this country a long time now.
“Although I was not born here, I am a British citizen.
“I put up with people shouting at me because of my job, but I don’t expect to be targeted for my appearance or accent.”
Kimberley McLeod and Jodie Connolly pleaded guilty to causing racially aggravated harassment alarm or distress. They were each fined £120, with £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge.