Judge locks up bully after she turns her back on him in court

A FURIOUS judge branded a teenager a “bully” and ordered her to be remanded into custody after she turned her back on him in the dock.

Xena Randell, 19, was hauled into court after she shoved frail 70-yearold Marion Ryan to the ground after a row at an outside market.

Ms Ryan suffered a fractured pelvis, cracked ribs and a head injury in the incident.

Randell, who has a string of 49 offences with 13 convictions, was arrested and admitted assault when she appeared at Warwick Crown Court last Friday. Judge Anthony her as much by your presence as by your actions. Pushing with force a woman old enough to be your grandmother is disgraceful.

“I am far from convinced you don’t deserve a prison sentence now.”

Attacked

Randell attacked Ms Ryan, who suffers from osteoporosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, at Wellesbourne Market, near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, last August.

Prosecutor Caroline Harris said Ms Ryan, who knew Randell, called the teenager a “selfish cow” after she was late meeting her.

Ms Harris said: “The complainant called the defendant a ‘selfish cow’ for being away so long, and the defendant pushed her with some force. It caused her to fall to the ground, landing on her bottom and striking her head.”

When Randell was arrested, she said she had pushed the pensioner out of the way “because she was in my space”. The court heard Randell had a suspended sentence for assaulting a police officer at the time of the attack.

Turaj Hodge, defending, said: “She suffers an inability to cope with stressful situations because of the very difficult upbringing she has had. And when she perceives she is under threat she reacts violently.

“She felt under threat from [Ms Ryan] who accepts she called her a ‘selfish cow’, and in response Miss Randell pushed her because of a perceived threat.”

The judge adjourned the case and remanded Randell, from Walsall, West Midlands, into custody. The Daily Express – through our Respect For The Elderly crusade – has consistently called for tougher sentences for criminals who attack pensioners.

Terrifying

Gary FitzGerald, chief executive of Action on Elder Abuse, said: “This is an absolutely appalling case.

“As well as terrifying and seriously injuring her victim, the perpetrator has shown total disdain for the law with her disrespectful actions in court.

“It’s a case that sums up exactly why we are campaigning for elder abuse to be classed as an aggravated offence, similar to hate crimes.

“It’s the only way the lowlifes like this who prey on older people are going to get the message that society won’t tolerate this kind of criminality. We need a proper deterrent.”

The charity estimates, based on academic research and independent polling, there are around one million victims of elder abuse each year.

This includes physical, financial, psychological and sexual abuse, and neglect, the great majority of these offences being criminal in nature.

Despite this, during 2016/17 there were just 2,856 successful convictions of crimes against older people, according to Crown Prosecution Service figures.

This shows the huge disparity between the estimated prevalence of offences and the 0.3 per cent of actual convictions, the charity said.