Mum of Peet’s first victim tells of fury after he walks free a third time
THE grieving mum of violent Aarron Peet’s first attack victim has lashed out at the justice system after he avoided jail for a third time.
Carol Hall, 59, whose disabled son Scott died after being kicked and punched by the thug, blasted his latest suspended sentence, for a race attack on two students.
He was allowed to walk free despite being in custody for breaching his previous sentence. Peet, 19, has sparked further fury by posing bare-chested online and boasting of becoming a martial arts champ, while Carol and daughter Zoe, 28, still mourn Scott, who suffered a bleed to the brain. Carol said: “I cannot believe he is out on the streets again. How does he keep on
getting away with it? How did he not go jail this time after yet another violent attack? What is the point of another suspended sentence? You just wonder what he has to do to go to jail.
“It is unbelievable he gets yet another slap on the wrists. I just cannot understand the criminal justice system, and how it works.
“It sickens me that he now thinks of himself as a fighter and promotes his bouts on Facebook.”
Peet was 15 when he and another teenager attacked Scott, 28, near his home in Durham in July 2014. He died just days later.
The other boy later updated his Facebook status to “full-time killer”. Neither was charged over Scott’s death. They were given referral orders instead of jail, leaving Carol stunned.
And she faced further heartache when she was hit by the Bedroom Tax for her son’s empty room.
In January last year, Peet was one of three teens involved in a series of violent incidents.
He admitted affray and using threatening behaviour and got an eightmonth jail term suspended for two years. And Peet, of Durham, escaped jail again last month despite a “shameful” race attack on two foreign students with his dad and brother last December. He was given another suspended sentence for assault.
Peet had been remanded in custody after that assault for breaching the terms of his earlier sentence. A judge could have kept him in prison for the rest of that suspended term.
But he freed him with another suspended term, making it clear that was
You just wonder what he has to do to go to jail CAROL HALL MUM OF VICTIM SCOTT, WHO DIED
for the breach of the suspended sentence as well as the assault. But during sentencing, the judge did not hear details of Peet’s attack on Scott.
Centre for Crime Prevention research director David Spencer said: “This case begs the question how many violent assaults does a person have to commit before he faces jail?
“The consistent offending suggests this man deserves time behind bars.
“It is time the Ministry of Justice got a grip on sentencing guidelines and prison overcrowding to ensure people who pose a public threat go to jail.”
Justice campaigner John Johnson, 67, whose son Kevin, 22, was murdered in Sunderland in 2007, said: “I’m afraid this case demonstrates that criminals do not get what they deserve.”
The Mirror has launched a campaign for victims’ rights.
Peet was due to compete for the English welterweight Mixed Martial Arts title in Spennymoor, Co Durham, before his latest court case. He pulled out for “personal reasons”.
Organiser Peter McQueen said: “I had not heard of this. If I had known, I would have cancelled the fight.”
The British Martial Arts and Boxing Association said: “If someone has a criminal record for violence, they should not be involved in martial arts without safeguarding checks.” But it added checks “are down to the clubs”.