A woman who assaulted and racially abused a Debenhams sales assistant has escaped with a community order. Toneeta Beckford, 33, grabbed hold of the employee’s wrist and said: “Go back to your country, f*****g Muslim”. The victim was wearing a headscarf at the time. The attack took place as Beckford was returning a dress inside the Oxford Street branch on July 7 last year.
On Monday, February 25th Beckford was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. She was also ordered to pay costs of £300, a victim surcharge of £85 and compensation of £50. Beckford, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated assault at a previous court hearing.
Lorraine Lewis, Senior Crown Prosecutor said: “This was a racial assault on a victim who was simply doing her job. Hate crime has a corrosive effect on our society and the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those who commit these crimes."
In the year ending March 2018, the CPS prosecuted more than 14,000 hate crimes and a record number of perpetrators were given tougher, uplifted sentences by the courts.
