Drunk teenage girl, 19, who brutally attacked woman in the street avoids jail and is ordered to pay £50 after court heard she was ‘provoked’ because she was racially abused
- Student Kareena Ijaz-Woodward, 19, attacked woman following ‘racist abuse’
- She was ordered to pay £50 damages to Samantha Hulme by magistrates
A teenage girl who got drunk and subjected another woman to a vicious beating in the street has avoided jail and been told to pay £50 damages after magistrates accepted she had been ‘provoked’ into attacking the victim after racist abuse.
College student Kareena Ijaz-Woodward, 19, pulled Samantha Hulme to the ground by her hair, wrapped her legs around her neck to pin her down, and then repeatedly punched her while a third woman kicked the victim to the head during the fight outside a bus station in the early hours of July 9.
Miss Hulme, from Runcorn, Cheshire was left with a black eye, scratches and lumps on the face and a small cut on her head. She also had bruising on her arm, ribs and knees and a cut on her right finger.
But when police arrested Ijaz-Woodward and accomplice Jade Pegram, both claimed they had been reacting to racist abuse hurled at them by the victim.
At Warrington Magistrates’ Court Ijaz-Woodward and mother-of-three Pegram, 30, both of Runcorn admitted assault by beating and were each ordered to pay the ‘reduced’ amount of £50 damages by magistrates who cited ‘provocation’ as a cause of the offence. The victim was not in court.
Teenage girl Kareena Ijaz-Woodward (pictured), 19, who got drunk and subjected another woman to a vicious beating in the street has avoided jail and been told to pay £50 damages after magistrates accepted she had been ‘provoked’ into attacking the victim due to racist abuse
Ijaz-Woodward, of of Runcorn, Cheshire, pulled Samantha Hulme to the ground by her hair, wrapped her legs around her neck to pin her down, and then repeatedly punched her while a third woman kicked the victim to the head during the fight outside a bus station in the early hours of July 9
The fight broke out after Ijaz-Woodward, who studies makeup and hairdressing at a local further education college, had been drinking heavily with Pegram and other friends.
Yvonne Dobson, prosecuting, said: ‘Miss Ijaz-Woodward can be seen instigating the physical assault on the complainant in this matter. She appeared to grab the complainant before the defendant was pulled away by another female.
‘The complainant ran away to a nearby car park area but was followed by both the defendants and Miss Ijaz-Woodward continued the assault on the complainant by dragging her to the floor and repeatedly punching her to the head.
‘Miss Pegram can be seen to kick the complainant in the head, whilst the complainant is on the floor. The complainant managed to get up from the floor but was followed again by the defendants. There was a further altercation between the complainant and the two defendants.
‘Miss Pegram can be seen to push the complainant with force causing her to fall backwards to the floor. The complainant got up from the floor and was followed by Miss Ijaz-Woodward and the matter continued. Miss Ijaz-Woodward dragged the complainant to the floor by her hair and pulled her along the floor by her hair and repeatedly punched her.
‘She wrapped her legs around her neck in order to pin her to the floor, so the complainant could not get up. She remained in that position for around twenty seconds as Miss Ijaz-Woodward punched her to the head a further two times.
‘Once the complainant and the defendant get up Miss Ijaz-Woodward continues to assault her by swinging her handbag into the face of the complainant. When the complainant tries to leave the area, she is followed by Miss Pegram all the way down the road.
‘It was a prolonged and persistent attack and substantial force was used. The complainant suffered more than minor injuries.’
Neither Ijaz-Woodward or Pegram had previous convictions. In mitigation Ijaz-Woodward’s lawyer Susan Hedges said: ‘Whilst she acknowledges she was drinking, she has not sought to blame that and says it was in fact provocation in relation to racist slurs to another individual which caused her to act on this occasion.
‘We would not seek to blame the complainant but this is a genuine case of provocation. It is clear that the complainant has acknowledged that she used racist language to the police officer and that is verified in her evidence.
‘That degree of provocation seems to indicate what has led to this. Some of the alcohol may have disinhibited this defendant in a sense but she does not seek to blame the offence on drink. It does appear to be the racist language which has caused her to act in the way she has, which does appear to be out of character.
‘She appears an upstanding citizen. She attends college, she has some support, she has future plans. She appears to be sincere in suggesting that she has no intention of being involved in the criminal justice system in the future.
‘Since her involvement in the offence and the shock she has experienced in relation to her own actions, she has barely been out to social events or consumed alcohol, such is her reaction to being involved in this offence.’
The fight broke out after Ijaz-Woodward (centre, with friends), who studies makeup and hairdressing at a local further education college, had been drinking heavily with Pegram and other friends
At Warrington Magistrates’ Court Ijaz-Woodward and mother-of-three Jade Pegram (pictured), 30, both of Runcorn admitted assault by beating and were each ordered to pay the ‘reduced’ amount of £50 damages by magistrates who cited ‘provocation’ as a cause of the offence. The victim was not in co
For Pegram who lives off Universal Credit with PIP (personal independence payments), defence lawyer Simon Dunn said: ‘This offence was clearly out of character and exacerbated by her use of alcohol – but there was a significant degree of provocation.
‘The circumstances are recorded by the officer that the complainant had been racially abusive. This set of circumstances would not have occurred but for the behaviour of the complainant.
‘Miss Pegram does not make it an excuse. It was not appropriate for her to react in that way that she did. This is very much a one-off. She accepts the harm that she has caused and accepts the trauma she has caused.
‘We all know alcohol is disinhibitory and makes people behave in a manner that they would not normally do. Miss Pegram finds herself in a situation. She was out with two friends, enjoying the time, when she was met by another family member. They were subject to verbal abuse by another person. That was the catalyst. That is recorded in the police officer’s information.
Both women were also sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, along with 20 days of rehabilitation activity with the probation service. They were each ordered to pay £274 in costs and victim surcharge.
JP Keith Gleave told Ijaz-Woodward: ‘This was a prolonged assault, and we have seen there were various injuries sustained. You did appear to be the greater aggressor of what was a joint enterprise.
‘Where provocation exists there is still a line which must not be passed and on this occasion, you have greatly exceeded that line. But the reason for this low amount of compensation is because of the provocation that started the offence off.’
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