Woman who attacked Jewish schoolchildren and pulled father’s beard given suspended sentence

A woman who hurled antisemitic abuse at Jewish schoolchildren before attacking a father and pulling his beard has been handed a suspended prison sentence.

Syeda Khatun, 39, targeted children waiting outside a Jewish secondary school in Stamford Hill on 10 May after they returned from a school trip.

She was sentenced at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, after being convicted of a series of racially aggravated offences.

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The sentence was increased from eight months to 12 months after prosecutors successfully argued that her hostility towards the victims’ Jewish ethnicity should be treated as an aggravating factor.

Khatun first shouted antisemitic abuse at a mother carrying her baby before turning towards the schoolchildren and aggressively swinging her arms at them.

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When the father of one of the children challenged her over why she was targeting youngsters, Khatun struck him in the face and pulled his beard while continuing to shout antisemitic slurs.

She was convicted following a trial on 3 July of three counts of racially aggravated assault, one count of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of racially aggravated words and behaviour causing harassment, alarm or distress.

The prosecution case included CCTV footage and eyewitness evidence. The Crown Prosecution Service said charges were authorised within 24 hours of receiving the police evidence.

Ragvesh Singh, Senior Crown Prosecutor in CPS London North, said: “This was a shocking attack where Syeda Khatun targeted people with antisemitic abuse in a public place, including children who were waiting outside their school.

“When challenged about her behaviour, she went on to assault a member of the public while continuing to make antisemitic remarks

“Violence motivated by antisemitic hatred is abhorrent, and nobody should have to fear going about their daily life because of their race, religion or identity.

“We also successfully applied to the court to recognise that Khatun was motivated by hostility towards the victims’ Jewish ethnicity, and this has been reflected in the tougher sentence she received.

“I hope this outcome reassures the public, particularly the Jewish community, that hate crime will be prosecuted robustly and offenders will be brought to justice.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Brittany Clarke, who leads policing in the area, said: “This was a despicable assault on young members of our Jewish community in Stamford Hill.

“We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously. Officers were on scene within minutes of the assault being reported to police. Detectives then worked with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure Khatun was charged and (brought) before the courts two days after the incident.

“We understand that concerns remain high within London’s Jewish communities. The Met continues to have an enhanced policing plan in place that focuses our resources around vulnerable areas to protect communities, disrupt offenders and tackle crime.”

Khatun, from Hackney, was also made subject to a restraining order.