Alfreton man hurled racist abuse at step-daughter in front of his four-year-old grandchild

A Derbyshire man who hurled racist abuse at his step-daughter in front of her four-year-old daughter has narrowly escaped prison.
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Stephen Albert Hill had been drinking heavily prior to the incident, where he waved a kitchen knife around in the street and used it to cause more than £700 of damage to her car, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Tuesday, September 15.

The court heard that Hill, 58, of Roberts Drive, Alfreton, was still traumatised over the death of his son but had stopped drinking following the incident, which happened outside his home on June 26.

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Prosecuting, Tony Wilkinson said: “He was being abusive towards her and then he grabbed a large kitchen knife and was threatening towards her. He damaged her car with it and was racist towards her, calling her n***** lover. She had previously had a mixed race relationship and this is what he was referring to.

Stephen Hill hurled racist abuse at his step-daughterStephen Hill hurled racist abuse at his step-daughter
Stephen Hill hurled racist abuse at his step-daughter

“This was all witnessed by her four-year-old daughter and when he was taken to the police car he shouted, ‘go back to your best friend, you n***** lover.”

Hill admitted racially-aggravated threatening behaviour, possession of a knife in a public place and criminal damage when he appeared before the court.

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Mitigating, Stephen Cooper said: “This was shocking and shameful behaviour and he is ashamed of himself. His recollection of the incident is not detailed because of that fatal combination of alcohol abuse and not taking his medication.

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“In 2014 his son was a patient at the Radbourne Unit, in Derby, and he took his own life, but his body wasn’t discovered for three months and it was eventually found in the hospital grounds. To say that he had to be identified by his dental records may go some way to explain the condition of the body, and when he had to go and identify his son it was an extremely traumatic experience for him.”

He added that Hill didn’t hold inherently racist views and things had been fine between him and his step-daughter’s former partner, and he was now working hard to repair the family relationships. He had also paid to get his step-daughter’s car repaired.

District Judge Andrew Davison gave Hill a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to complete 15 rehabilitation days with the Probation Service and 120 hours of unpaid work in the community. He must also pay £85 in prosecution costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

He also ordered that the kitchen knife should be forfeited and destroyed.

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He said: “People don’t use those terms unless they hold those beliefs. Everyone says they’re not racist to the point that there wouldn’t be a single racist person in the world. I don’t know how you could use those terms in front of your four-year-old granddaughter.

“Whether you like it or not, this is knife crime and we are being put under pressure to send people to prison for knife crime offences. You were out in the street with neighbours looking on, and with a terrified step-daughter and granddaughter.”

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