Man jailed after teenagers racially abused and assaulted in Liverpool

We have today, Tuesday 20th December, welcomed the sentencing of a man following an incident in which two teenagers were racially abused and assaulted.

The two males, aged 17 and 18, were on Fell Street in Kensington at around 8pm on Monday 27^th June this year when John O’Donnell walked past and shouted racial abuse towards them.

O’Donnell then produced a screwdriver and assaulted one of the teenagers causing cuts to his neck and cheek. The second teenager who came to his assistance suffered a laceration to his arm.

The two teenagers required hospital treatment for their injuries.

John O’Donnell, 56, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to two counts of racially aggravated s20 assault and s4a racially aggravated public order.

He was sentenced to a total of 26 months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Monday).

Detective Constable Matt Blackburne said: “This was a totally unprovoked and shocking racially aggravated assault. Nobody should be subjected to racial or physical abuse and we will not tolerate anyone being targeted in this way. Hate crime has no place in Merseyside and we will work tirelessly with our partners to stamp it out.

“I am pleased that O’Donnell is now behind bars as a consequence of his actions and I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of hate to contact us so that we can take positive action and bring the person or people responsible to justice.”

If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.
 
Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third-party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals.