A woman who was assaulted and says she suffered homophobic abuse is devastated that her attacker escaped with a £60 fine.
Jackie Hatton-Hesketh, 44, was out with her partner in Llandudno when a group of men started verbally abusing her partner.
The mum-of-three tried to intervene but says she was grabbed and left with cuts and bruises to her face and damage to her back.
But only one man was prosecuted for the case, and he walked away with a curfew and a fine.
Jackie, who only now feels able to talk about her ordeal, said: “I stopped to light a cigarette and my partner walked ahead not realising I had stopped, when these men heard her telling me to hurry up they started verbally abusing her calling her a lesbian.
“I asked them what their problem was, and they said it wasn’t any of my business but I replied that as she was my wife it had everything to do with me.”
She claimed she was called “another dirty lesbian” and physically assaulted.
“They were drunk and were shouting things in Polish and in English to me, I put myself in a foetal position with my face down.
“One man did come out and drag the men off me, but then I was assaulted again.
“I was screaming 'I’m a female, I’m a woman', hoping someone would help me but no one came.”
Jackie’s partner phoned the police and two men were arrested over the July 4 attack.
The men appeared before Llandudno Magistrates Court last month. One case was dismissed and the other male was convicted of assault. He received a community order of a month’s curfew from 11pm until 6am, a £60 victim surcharge, £150 criminal court charge and £85 costs.
Jackie: “How does what I believe to be a hate crime like that warrant just a fine and a curfew from 11pm to 6am, how is that going to adversely affect his life?
“How is a vicious attack on a woman punished by just a fine?
“The assault has left me in a mess, it means I can no longer work the 10pm to 6am shift shelf stacking in Asda, which paid above the minimum wage. It means I’ve had to go on the tills instead which is minimum wage.
“My bosses at Asda have been great, but I’ve had to take a lot of time off so I’ve lost money.
“It’s damaged me in lots of other ways too, I’m usually a very outgoing sociable person, but I no longer go out as I’ve lost my confidence.
“The stress of it has contributed to the break-up of my 12-year relationship with my partner.
“And my son, who was supposed to be going to university says he can’t leave me at present which I’m heartbroken about as he’s worked so hard for it.”
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said: “In August, two defendants were charged with an assault against Jacqueline Hatton-Hesketh.
“As is normal with prosecution cases, we continued to review the evidence as the case progressed to court.
“Our most recent review concluded that, whilst a case could be pursued against Lukasz Stasiak, there were problems in continuing with a case against the second defendant.
“This was because an account from an independent witness who saw and heard the incident differed considerably from that of the victim.
“This disparity significantly undermined the prospects of conviction in the case against the second defendant and, as a result, the prosecution team withdrew the charges against him.
“At a hearing on September 10, Lukasz Stasiak pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced. Matters of sentencing are for the court to determine.
“Ms Hatton-Hesketh has been in contact with us to seek clarification on a number of points relating to the case and we will be responding in more detail to her directly.”
For more stories see - http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/llandudno-attack-woman-jackie-hatton-10327666
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