EXASPERATED JUDGE JAILS GRAN, 36
A 36-YEAR-OLD grandmother who breached a restraining order following an attack on her parents – just THREE DAYS after it was imposed – was told she will ‘learn her lesson in jail’ by the judge who gave her the ‘last chance’ she squandered.
Judge Anthony Cross QC showed Toni Flynn mercy after she assaulted her sick father and mother.
The crime breached a previouslyimposed suspended sentence for theft, criminal damage and affray.
Judge Cross gave Flynn a ‘chance she barely deserved’ when she was sentenced last month.
Showing her ‘leniency,’ he said that he hoped becoming a grandmother would have a ‘positive effect’ on her life.
Flynn was handed a 12-month community order and slapped with a restraining order, preventing her from contacting her parents.
Less than three days later, Flynn – who has drink and drug problems – arrived at her parents’ house shouting and banging on the door.
Yesterday, she was hauled back before Judge Cross, who blasted her for ignoring his warnings – and sent her to jail for two years. “The time has come for you to learn your lesson, and you will learn that lesson in jail,” he told her.
Julian Goode, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court that on August 18, Flynn’s mother was tending to her sick husband when she heard her daughter scream ‘mam’ from outside. Flynn shouted again, telling her mum: “I want my clothes”. She was told to go away, but later returned asking for £7. Flynn’s parents called police, and she was arrested in Miles Platting.
In a statement read to the court, Flynn’s mother said her daughter ‘has a complete lack of respect for authority’ and had ‘completely ignored’ the order.
“The court need to help us and protect us,” she added. “I can no longer deal with her on top of my caring commitments. My family needs help.”
Flynn, of Canons Grove, Monsall, pleaded guilty to breaching the restraining order when she appeared before magistrates last month.
She was sent to Manchester Crown Court to be dealt with by Judge Cross.
Matthew Howarth, said there was ‘very little’ he could say in mitigation, but highlighted that his client pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
Flynn wept in the dock as details of the attack on her parents and her record of offending were read out by the judge who said: “You abused them. You slapped your mother and pushed her. And you barged into the room where your father was and spat at him, and threw an ornament at him.” She was ordered to be quiet at one point.
The restraining order was extended to a period of five years.