Englishman, who called a Lurgan doorman a 'faggot' and 'Fenian' during a brawl, said he would never 'set foot' back in NI, Craigavon court hears

Christopher Mosson, aged 37, of Main Street, Atherston, who was accused of disorderly behaviour and common assault, did not appear before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

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Mosson’s solicitor, Mr Kevin McCamley, said his client pleaded guilty to both charges. A Prosecutor said an aggravator is added to the charges as it is was considered a “hate crime” because of the use of the words “faggot” and “Fenian”.

Mr McCamley said he believes there “isn’t enough in those two words” for the aggravator. “This was basically a brawl that happened and those words were said in the throes of drink rather than in any way to undermine or demean anyone. He was also assaulted on this occasion.”

Asked if his client wanted a Pre-Sentence Report, Mr McCamley said: “He resides in England. He has no plans to come back to this jurisdiction. He has no previous convictions.”

A Prosecutor told the court that on June 8 this year at around 1.35am police received a request for assistance by a staff member at the Ashburn Hotel in Lurgan.

They spoke with door staff who alleged the defendant had been removed from the nightclub “due to his behaviour inside”.

"Once removed he was verbally abusive in a prolonged incident towards the injured party putting him initially in fear of being assaulted and then slapping him in the ribs. He repeatedly called the injured party a faggot and a Fenian and shouted and roared at him in the street,” the Prosecutor said.

“The injured party had his own body worn device on and recorded this interaction. Police then located the defendant a short distance away and when speaking to them he became verbally abusive towards police and started to shout and swear in the street.

"He refused to calm down despite being warned about his behaviour on several occasions,” said the Prosecutor, adding Mosson did a ‘no comment’ interview after arrest.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan said that the incident happened in the street. “Two sets of very bad language, repeated and aimed at particular members of our society. I can safely say the aggravator is attached to both offences before the court.”

Mr McCamley said his client “apologises profusely” to the court. “He was here visiting relatives. He was on a night out and drink overtook. There was a brawl outside this place. He got entangled in it and unfortunately he did strike out and slapped the complainant. He apologises to the complainant.”

"His words to me on the phone yesterday were ‘I’m not setting foot back in Northern Ireland because of this incident’,” said the solicitor.

He suggested that due to his unwillingness to come back to Northern Ireland the only option for the court would be to leave something “hanging over his head”.

District Judge Ranaghan said: “Tell Mr Mosson the aggravator has impacted on his sentencing. The total sentence including the aggravator is four months. Given his clear record both sentences will be four months suspended for 12 months.”