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James Goddard given restraining order after calling Independent journalist ‘vile scum of the earth’ in court confrontation

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November 27, 2020
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Far-right activist handed fine and told not to contact correspondent following March 2019 incident

Far-right activist James Goddard has been handed a fine and given a restraining order after abusing an Independent journalist outside a packed courtroom.

Goddard was found guilty on Thursday at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court of a public order offence relating to a confrontation with home affairs and security correspondent Lizzie Dearden.

Goddard, who was a prominent figure in pro-Brexit ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations, called Ms Dearden “scum of the earth” and “vile” at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in March 2019.

Ms Dearden was at the court to cover the trial of Goddard, 31, who had been charged with harrassing pro-Remain MP Anna Soubry and calling her a “Nazi”.

Goddard recognised Ms Dearden, who has reported extensively on the far right, and acted toward her in an “aggressive manner”, Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court was told.

In finding him guilty, district judge Andrew Sweet said Goddard had been “threatening and abusive” towards Ms Dearden.

Giving evidence, Ms Dearden said she arrived outside the courtroom where Goddard’s hearing was being held but at that moment the defendant “came out walking extremely fast”.

The journalist told the court she “took a step back” but Goddard “seemed to recognise” her and “started shouting… ‘that’s Lizzie Dearden from The Independent’.”

She added: “He started walking towards me quite fast. I remember hearing the words ‘vile’ and ‘scum of the earth’. My immediate reaction was to get into the court to get away from him.”

Ms Dearden said she was unable to get into the courtroom because staff told her it was full.

Asked by prosecutor Leo Seelig how she felt, Ms Dearden said: “I was frightened when he came towards me, he is quite a big guy and he looked extremely angry.”

Carly-May Kavanagh, who was with Ms Dearden at the time of the confrontation, described Goddard as “aggressive and confrontational”.

She said: “He was raising his voice, he was shouting about Lizzie but he also stepped towards us, and it was at that point I walked off because I was worried it could get physical.”

District judge Andrew Sweet stopped the proceedings on a number of occasions to tell Goddard, from Greater Manchester, to stop interrupting from the dock.

Taking the stand, the defendant, who was accompanied by several supporters in the public gallery, told the court there were “hundreds” of people at his March 2019 trial and he felt “very anxious” because of a large police and press presence.

Goddard said the exchange with Ms Dearden happened as he was coming out of the court, when he “laughed and said ‘ha you’re not coming in, you scumbag’.” He denied referring to Ms Dearden as “vile scum of the earth”.

Goddard denied his words or behaviour were threatening or abusive. He added: “If you can’t be called a scumbag maybe you are in the wrong profession, maybe you shouldn’t be a journalist, maybe you should go work in a warehouse.”

The Independent

Durham plasterer threatened to ‘do a Raoul Moat’ days before he was due in court for harassing ex

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November 22, 2020
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Ryan Crinson, of County Durham, had already told his former partner, of Sunderland, he would make her life hell and blow up her car

A plasterer threatened to “do a Raoul Moat” days before he was due to appear in court for harassing his former partner.

Ryan Crinson had already told his ex he would blow up her car, “make her life hell” and drive his car through her friends’ homes during a series of unwanted calls in April and May.

The 32-year-old menace was arrested for harassment and told he had to appear in court on July 20.

But three days before his appearance, Crinson contacted his victim, who lived in Sunderland and had by then had moved house because of him, 30 times in one day.

During the calls on July 17, Crinson warned he would “do a Raoul Moat” – a reference to the notorious killer who went on a gun rampage after his relationship broke down.

Prosecutor Helen Towers told Newcastle Crown Court: “The complainant received 30 unwanted calls. She answered four and recorded them.

“The defendant was the caller and she described him as under the influence, his speech was slurred.

“During the calls he made offers of money for her not to go to court.

“He stated he knew where she was living and gave a location.

“He stated he would blow her car up.

“He also stated he would do a Raoul Moat.”

Crinson, of Upper Town, Wolsingham, County Durham, admitted harassment and threatening behaviour.

Judge Tim Gittins sentenced Crinson to six months behind bars with a five year restraining order to keep him away from his victim’s home in Sunderland.

The judge said the calls made by Crinson were “vile, threatening and abusive” and added: “Albeit they were words, they were frightening words.

“She was understandably terrified.”

The court heard Crinson is likely to be released immediately due to the time he has spent on remand.

Tony Cornberg, defending, said Crinson is keen to get back to his plastering business and accepts he was using alcohol to excess at the time.

Mr Cornberg added: “There has been no trouble in the last four months. He accepts the relationship is over.”

Newcastle Chronicle

James Goddard guilty: ‘Yellow vest protester’ convicted for assaulting M.E.N. photographer

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June 26, 2019
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Goddard, who now has nine criminal convictions, has been fined and slapped with a restraining order after shouting and grabbing at the camera of a journalist covering a city centre demo for the M.E.N

‘Yellow vest’ protester James Goddard has been found guilty of assaulting a photographer as he covered a demo in Manchester city centre for the M.E.N.

Goddard, 29, grabbed at Joel Goodman’s camera as he took pictures and recorded video of the protest in Piccadilly Gardens in February.

He denied attacking him and defended himself in what was a heated trial attended by a number of his supporters, several of whom were removed from the courtroom at Manchester Magistrates’ Court.

However a judge this afternoon ruled his actions were unlawful and convicted him of common assault.

He was fined £300 and ordered to pay £500 in prosecution costs and £50 compensation to his victim.

A two-year restraining order was also put in place which prevents the defendant from approaching Mr Goodman.

He was found not guilty of a public order offence of using threatening words or behaviour to cause his victim to fear “immediate” violence after he told his victim he would “take his head off his shoulders.”

He told the court his words were a “common English idiom.” Judge Mark Hadfield said as the threat of violence was not “immediate”, the offence was not made out.

Before entering court a video of Goddard was uploaded onto Twitter of him saying he hoped the “got the right judge” and that he “got the right result”.

The court heard Goddard has nine previous convictions, including theft from an employer and failing to surrender in April 2010 and a racially aggravated public order offence in February 2011.

He told the court he now works as a “content creator” and is an “independent journalist”.

Police were earlier called into court after Mr Goddard surreptitiously held up a piece of paper with the words, “Pussy coward leftist soy boy” written on it as Mr Goodman entered the witness box.

Proceedings were temporarily halted whilst police officers, who were harangued by Mr Goddard’s supporters labelling them ‘jobsworths’, seized the piece of paper.

District Judge Hadfield warned that could have been treated as contempt of court but allowed it to “lie on the slate” and continue the trial after Mr Goodman ensured him he was happy to continue and be cross-examined by Goddard, who defended himself.

In video footage of the incident on Saturday February 9 this year from a Mr Goodman’s body-worn camera, Goddard lunges at Mr Goodman, twice trying to grab his camera as his victim backs away shouting: “Don’t you dare touch my lense!”

About 20 minutes later Mr Goodman told the court Goddard approached him again.

Goddard is filmed saying: “When there’s no police around here I’m going to take your head off your shoulders.

“Next time you are in London, you are finished, all the football lads know you. Next time you are down, see what happens.”

Mr Goodman told the court he took that to mean Goddard would “assault me in the future” and that is “scared me a bit.”

Using a megaphone and surrounded by yellow vest supporters, Goddard is then recorded referring to “Joel” and saying: “Your card is marked.”

Around 20 minutes later there is a third encounter where the two arguing about freedom of speech but this ends in a handshake.

Goddard was arrested five days after the incident at his home address on Kelvindale Drive, Timperley, Trafford.

He made no comment in his police interview but later claimed self-defence.

In court he He described his prosecution as a “witch hunt” and claimed he was being persecuted because Greater Manchester Police “fear the rise of the yellow vests.”

He said he had pushed Mr Goodman’s camera as he believed the pictures would be “given to organisations that tried to do me serious harm”.

He said: “I’m not proud of what I said. It’s a common English idiom. I wanted him out of my personal space.”

He added he had released a video “to my 15,000 followers” apologising for the comments to Mr Goodman.

Manchester Evening News

Racist dad abused black school teacher then turned up at gates with an axe

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March 22, 2019
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A dad hurled racist abuse at his child’s school teacher after they were injured in a playground accident, before returning to the school the next day armed with an axe, a court heard.

Stephen Cosgrove, 36, targeted the teacher, who is black, verbally attacking him with racist and homopohobic slurs after his child’s arm was broken.

The next day, on February 8, he turned up at the gates of Brownhills School in Walsall, West Midlands and continued his rant towards teachers while holding the terrifying weapon.

Stephen Cosgrove has been jailed for a year for racially abusing his child’s black teacher at school and turning up at the gates with an axe

Stephen Cosgrove has been jailed for a year for racially abusing his child’s black teacher at school and turning up at the gates with an axe

Unemployed Cosgrove, of Walsall, has been jailed for a year and handed a restraining order for the public order offences.

He has been ordered not to contact any employee of Brownhills School and not to go within 100 yards of the building.

n a victim impact statement, the teacher, who has not been named, said: ‘I am a black teacher and this is my fifth year in my teaching career.

‘I have never experienced extreme racial abuse, violent threatening behaviour and intimidating far right views from parents at school, as demonstrated by Cosgrove.

‘The constant thought of his threatening acts of violence has caused me to avoid going out publicly due to the overwhelming fear of being injured or assaulted, which has left me feeling vulnerable.’

PC Paul Watts, from West Midlands Police, said after the case: ‘Both the aggressive incidents were witnessed by students at the school, who heard the swearing and racist language.

‘What Cosgrove did was unacceptable and created fear for not only pupils, but the teachers who had to face him.

‘I am glad we have brought this man to justice and hope it can serve as an example that we will not tolerate this type of abuse in our community.’

Metro

Self-styled vigilante jailed after attacking man with a baseball bat and spraying ‘nonce’ across his window

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April 24, 2018
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Gang attacked man at house in Lincoln Boulevard with weapons and broken bottle

Jonathan West, who has a history of violence, was jailed for attacking a man at this house in Grimsby (Image: Grimsby Telegraph)

Jonathan West, who has a history of violence, was jailed for attacking a man at this house in Grimsby (Image: Grimsby Telegraph)

Three menacing vigilantes hurled bricks, nails and fencing at a man outside his home and one of them viciously attacked him with a baseball bat.

He also hurled a broken bottle at him after trying to slash him with it, a court heard.

The three troublemakers spray-painted “nonce” across a window at his boarded-up home after midnight before confronting him.

Jonathan West, 26, of Redbourne Road, Grimsby, admitted assault, causing actual bodily harm, on November 10 and affray.

Jeremy Evans, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that West and two other males went to a man’s home and spray-painted the word “nonce” across a bay window and directly underneath on chipboard.

The premises in Lincoln Boulevard, Grimsby, were boarded up after previous attacks.

The occupier was watching TV in the rear kitchen area after midnight when he heard a noise and got dressed.

He went outside and seized West, who had a spray can and a baseball bat, and asked him: “What are you doing?”

West swung the bat towards the man, who put up his arm to block the blows but suffered bruises.

“Police received several calls from members of the public aware of a disturbance going on,” said Mr Evans.

The intruders — one of them wearing a motorcycle helmet — pulled nails from fence panels and threw whatever they had at the occupier.

He was able to prise the baseball bat away from West, who picked up an already broken bottle and tried to slash out with it.

He threw it and it hit the man, causing a skin wound. Masonry and bits of fence were thrown by all three.

The occupier retreated back into his home and objects continued to be thrown.

One of the males, not West, made threats to stab the man and took exception to the baseball bat being taken.

There was a confrontation before the troublemakers retreated but West was arrested later in the morning.

He had convictions for 59 previous offences dating back to 2002, including wounding, affray, burglary and breaching an antisocial behaviour order.

Dale Brook, mitigating, said West had been in custody since November 11 and had no intention of approaching or contacting the victim.

He was keen to receive help to stay out of trouble.

There was a history between West and the man involved.

West was jailed for 10 months but, because of his time in custody, was expected to be released shortly.

He was given a five-year restraining order.
Grimsby Telegraph

Teenage party guest was raped while being gripped round the throat in 90-minute attack

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October 2, 2016
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Terry Maughan, jailed for seven years for raping a teenager

Terry Maughan, jailed for seven years for raping a teenager

A teenage party guest was raped while being gripped round the throat in a terrifying attack which lasted up to an hour-and-a-half.

Terry Maughan took advantage of the 17-year-old’s vulnerable drunken state after she ended up in a home alone with him at the end of the night.

A court heard he threw her to the floor, put his hand round her throat and tightened his grip when she tried to shout out.

Now the 23-year-old has been jailed for seven years after a jury at Newcastle Crown Court convicted him of rape.

Judge Penny Moreland told Maughan: “There was a gathering of young people at that house and (the victim) was extremely drunk that night.

“One by one the young people left and you were still downstairs when she was the last one left.

“You threw her to the floor, your hand on her throat so she couldn’t move and you raped her, tightening your grip if she tried to shout out.

“This was, on her account, a sustained incident. She thought she had been the victim of your offending for one-and-a-half hours.

“She was particularly vulnerable because she was young and extremely drunk.”

Maughan, of Denton View, Blaydon, Gateshead, had denied raping the girl but was found guilty after a trial.

Prosecutor Matthew Bean said the offence has had a bad effect on the victim.

He said: “She says following the offence she has become withdrawn and is nervous about leaving her home alone.

“It has not only affected her but her family members.

“She feels she is unable to go out socialising with friends, she has had low mood and she is attending counselling services.”

As well as the seven year prison sentence, Maughan was ordered to sign the sex offender register for life, was given a ten year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and was barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.

The court heard he has no previous convictions and the judge was given references as to Maughan’s “good qualities”.

Tom Moran, defending, said: “While he must have become aware of her state of intoxication, he was not responsible for plying her with alcohol and he didn’t engineer them being left alone.

“The larger group of people gradually peeled off during the night, leaving just him and the victim.

“On the verdict of the jury, he then took the opportunity to commit a very serious offence.”

Mr Moran said the rape may not have lasted as long as the victim believed it had

Newcastle Chronicle

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Sunderland man threw milk over sleeping female friend before beating her with the glass in row over rumours

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July 19, 2016
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A MAN has been jailed after creeping into a friend’s bedroom, throwing a glass of milk in her face and attacking her.

Peter Scotter, who had known his victim for more than 20 years, let himself into her bedroom where punched her repeatedly and hit her with the empty glass after throwing the contents in her face during the 15-minute ordeal.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the 52-year-old had accused the woman, who he would regularly meet for cups of tea as a friend, of spreading rumours about him.

She was left with a swollen face and a cut to her scalp from the glass attack.

Judge John Evans yesterday jailed Scotter, of Hendon Close, Sunderland, for 21 months and ordered him to stay away from his victim forever, under the terms of a restraining order.

The judge told him: “You assaulted her in a way which was wholly unacceptable. It was an appalling incident.”

The court heard the victim had been asleep when she heard a noise in her home and somebody coming up the stairs in the early morning of November 10 last year.

Prosecutor Simon Worthy told the court: “Before she had a chance to speak he punched her three times to the face.

“He then picked up a glass of milk from the bedside cabinet and threw the milk in her face before hitting the glass off the top of her head.”

The court heard at the time of the attack Scotter was on a suspended sentence for hurling racist abuse at a shopkeeper.

Jamie Adams, defending, said Scotter had been “lifelong” friends with the woman.

Mr Adams said: “They had been friends since they were very small and had helped each other out over the years.

“It was the fact of being wrongfully called in the way he was he took umbrage with.”

Scotter had admitted assault causing bodily harm.

Sunderland Echo

Thugs boasted on Facebook about starting a ‘war’ in pizza shop after attacking and racially abusing staff

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June 20, 2016
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Drunken thugs boasted on Facebook about starting a ‘war’ in a pizza shop after attacking and racially abusing workers, smashing a door and hurling pizza boxes around the shop.

Brothers Jamie York, 32, and John Alexander Brown, 19, both of Greenwood Avenue, Mansfield Woodhouse and Shaun Andrew Bowers , 35, of Crompton Road, Mansfield were caught on CTTV in Chicho’s on High Street, Mansfield Woodhouse.

All three had been to Bowers’ grandfather’s funeral on January 26, had been drinking and went for food at the shop before 8pm that day.

However, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard how an argument broke out over the size of a pizza and things ‘turned very badly’, according to defence solicitor for Brown and York, Chris Perry.

The court was shown extensive CCTV footage of the incident which showed punches being thrown, pizza boxes and dishes being hurled between both the defendants and the shop workers. Racial insults and threats were also heard.

At one point Brown is seen picking up a ‘wet-floor’ plastic sign and throwing it at the staff. The staff can also be seen swinging a wooden stick around to defend themselves.

One member had to be later taken to hospital with bruising and swelling.

Brown was seen later seen returning to the shop and kicking the door, damaging it.

Two of the three defendants were later found to have posted entries on Facebook with what prosecutor Robert Carr described as ‘rejoicing at what they called a war’, and laughing and bragging.

But in mitigation, the court was told how the defendants do not consider themselves to be racist and insults may have been shouted in the heat of the moment.

Mr Perry said: “They did not intend to cause trouble, there were events that led to this inexcusable behaviour.

“The catalyst for it was very innocuous.”

Bowers admitted racially-aggravated provocation of violence and was handed a 12-month community order with 200 hours of unpaid work, £200 compensation and £145 in costs.

Brown admitted criminal damage and two counts of assault, while York admitted racially-aggravated criminal damage and two counts of racially-aggravated assaults.

They each received 18 weeks’ jail for the assaults, plus four weeks for the criminal damage charges, all suspended for 12 months.

They each had to pay £750 in compensation, Brown was also given 200 hours of unpaid work while York was given a three-month curfew order.

All three were handed a one-year restraining order to not enter the pizza shop.

Mansfield Chad

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