Elham Asaad Buaras
Three men have been sentenced to a total of more than seven years in prison for a series of “deliberately and strategically” planned attacks, where they left pigs’ heads outside buildings used by Muslim groups in a bid to cause “serious distress.”
Harvey Wells, 21, James Desbois, 30, and Josh Campbell, 34 who were sentenced on September 16, targeted three locations in Rainham, east London, in the early hours of July 25 last year. The incidents, which also involved spraying the words “no mosques” on walls, were described by prosecutors as a clear “message of religious hostility.”
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how the three venues—Rainham Village Children’s Centre, the Royal Youth Community Centre, and Harris Academy—were all frequented by the local Muslim community for Islamic classes and prayers.
The court was told that Wells was captured on CCTV attempting to hide his face as he got out of a car and removed the raw pigs’ heads from black bin liners before placing them outside the buildings.
Louise Oakley, prosecuting, stated the animal remains were “deliberately and strategically placed” alongside the graffiti, which was daubed on concrete surfaces. “The Crown’s case is that the writing was deliberate and motivated by religious hostility,” she said.
Wells, of Hutton, Essex, and Desbois, of Herongate, Essex, both admitted three counts of religiously aggravated criminal damage. Campbell, also of Hutton, denied the charges but was convicted after a trial of the same offences.
Sentencing the trio, Judge Gerard Pounder remarked: “I don’t know why you did it. There must have been substantial planning… This is a particularly nasty thing to do in another community. It is obvious that your offending was designed to cause serious distress.”
He noted that the targeted premises were not obvious mosques with minarets, indicating the men had gone out of their way to identify community spaces used by Muslims.
The emotional toll on the community was laid bare in an impact statement from Helen Harrow, headmistress of Rainham Village Primary School, which is attached to one of the targeted centres.
“The school walkway was cleaned 23 times, but the graffiti still remains. It is a reminder of what happened,” she said. “Nearly half of the children are Muslim, and I have Muslim staff. I am now constantly worried about going to school and seeing more graffiti on the windows.”
Following the sentencing, Wells and Campbell were each jailed for 32 months, whilst Desbois received a 25-month sentence. Police Superintendent Simon Hutchison had previously confirmed the incidents were “treated as Islamophobic hate crimes.”
Photo: Snaresbrook Crown Court (Credit: Wikimedia)
