Girl rioter threw rocks at police in bid to impress boy, court hears

by · Mail Online

A 16-year-old girl threw rocks at police after she followed a boy she had a crush on to a riot to try to impress him, a court has heard.

The teenager, who cannot be named, was sentenced at Sheffield Youth Court on Wednesday for her part in the disorder outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel, in Rotherham in August. 

A district judge was told how the girl was part of a group on the periphery of the disorder and was caught on body-worn camera footage throwing a stone or piece of rubble at riot police. 

Hundreds of rioters gathered outside the hotel, which was housing around 240 asylum seekers, before attacking police and trying to smash their way inside.   

Helen White, defending, told the court her client 'followed a boy to the scene' after they saw what was happening on social media.

Ms White said: 'She wanted to impress him. She had a bit of a crush on this young man.'

But, when they arrived outside the hotel, the defendant 'got caught up', the solicitor said.

Far-right yobs watch as smoke rises after a hotel is set on fire with around 240 people inside
Those at the riot in Rotherham set fire to the hotel before blocking the emergency exits, trapping people inside
The morning after the riot in Rotherham where thugs in balaclavas hurled chairs and wood at police

The court heard that, after she was arrested, the girl told police it was an 'act of stupidity'.

Ms White said her client has already been punished by her mother, who went down to the scene to 'chastise' her daughter for being there.

Mr White said: 'She simply got caught up and committed a criminal act which she now bitterly regrets.'

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The solicitor said: 'Immaturity certainly played a huge part here.'

And she said: 'To say that she is remorseful for her actions would be an understatement.'

Ms White said: 'She was lucky that none of the missiles did in fact connect with any of the police staff.'

Asked if she wanted to say anything, the girl told District Judge Marcus Waite: 'Just that I'm not going to do anything like that again.'

The judge heard how the girl, who is from the Doncaster area, is a college student with a part-time job.

Council workers began clearing a mountain of shattered glass from outside the Holiday Inn in Rotherham 
Police and dog handlers try to control the deplorable violence after a mob attacked a hotel
A masked thug faces off with police officers at the Holiday Inn in Rotherham while fire rages in the background
Outside the hotel in the north of England, thugs tried to force their way inside and threw chairs, bins and bricks

She admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing and had no previous convictions.

Judge Waite imposed a 12-month intensive referral order and told her to pay £111 in costs and surcharges, payable at £5 a week.

He told her that, if she was just a couple of years older, she would have had a much more severe sentencing.

He said: 'There are teenagers who have gone to prison for years for being involved in this riot.'

The court heard how the girl's actions were part of the mob violence outside the hotel which lasted for hours and left more than 50 police officers injured, as well as four dogs and a horse.

At one point, the rioters broke into the hotel and tried to set the building alight as staff and residents barricaded themselves in, fearing they would die, the courts have heard.

More than 70 people have now been sentenced for their part in this incident.