Transgender PCSO upset by young man’s abuse

A TRANSGENDER police community support officer was left upset and embarrassed after abusive comments shouted by a teenager while he was on duty, a court has heard.

Declan Armstrong, 19, was given a curfew requirement and ordered to pay £590 at Mold Magistrates’ Court yesterday after he was found guilty of making the comments to PCSO Connor Freel, pictured, following an earlier trial.

Rhian Jackson, prosecuting, said Mr Freel had been in full uniform on foot patrol in Mold on October 16 last year when he passed Armstrong, who was with friend Chelsea Bassett.

She said: “Declan then shouted, very loudly, ‘is it a boy or is it a girl?’”

She said when Mr Freel looked over at Armstrong he made the comment loudly again.

Ms Jackson said: “Due to his transgender, when Connor heard Declan say what he said, it left him feeling upset and embarrassed.”

In a statement which Ms Jackson read to the court, Mr Freel outlined the work he had done to raise awareness of transphobic hate crime, including being part of a Victim Support campaign and being interviewed on the television, and said he knew by putting himself in the public eye he may be open to repercussions.

But he said he wanted to show that being transgender was not something to hide.

Ms Jackson said: “To have something shouted at him that had such personal connotations whilst he was on his own in the middle of a public place, that was rather busy due to market day footfall, did leave him vulnerable, distressed and embarrassed.”

She said it had left him reluctant to undertake foot patrols on his own.

Armstrong, of Victory Court, Mold, was convicted of a public order offence following a trial earlier this month, but the court heard he still denied making the comments.

Gary Harvey, defending, said: “He doesn’t hold any prejudice against anyone in society.”

The court heard Armstrong had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and suffered from anxiety and depression.

Sentencing, district judge Roger Lowe said the aggravating features of the case were that Mr Freel was performing a public service as a PCSO and the incident was in a town centre.

Armstrong was ordered to pay £200 compensation to Mr Freel, a £90 victim surcharge and £300 contribution to the prosecution costs. He was also given a 12-week curfew.