Man sentenced for racially and religiously aggravated offence in Southport

Police are welcoming the sentencing of a man for a racially and religiously aggravated offence in Southport.

Edward Ossian, 68, of Norwood Avenue, Southport, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday 14 February) after pleading guilty to the offence of racially/religiously aggravated intentional harassment/alarm/distress through words/writing.

He was given a 12 week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, as well as 20 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, told to pay a £300 victim surcharge, given a three year restraining order and an electronic tag for eight weeks with a 7pm-7am curfew.

On Wednesday 21 September last year, Ossian verbally abused and made anti-Semitic comments towards another man in a pub on Lord Street, in Southport.

In a victim impact statement read in court, the victim spoke about how the incident has had a lasting impact on his life.

He said: “I feel very anxious about wearing my kippah outside because the stress of anti-Semitism and all that comes with being openly Jewish today. I feel the actions of that day will impact me for some considerable time.

“I should be able to go out without the stress of being verbally berated. The comments said to me shook me to my core. The incident has impacted on my daily life. I have changed my routines to avoid any further confrontation. It has impacted on my family life and where I feel safe to go.”

Detective Inspector Matthew Kerr said: “Hate crime in all its forms simply will not be tolerated and I hope this result sends a clear message that anyone found to commit hate crime offences anywhere on Merseyside will be brought to justice.

“Ossian will now have a criminal record and the consequences of this in the future could prove to be significant.

“We take all reports of hate crime extremely seriously and I would like to take this opportunity to reassure people that we have specially trained officers who investigate cases with a view to robust action being taken against offenders.”

Anyone with information on hate crime is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/give-information. 

If, for any reason, you do not wish to report a hate crime to the police, the independent charity Stop Hate UK to run a 24/7 confidential helpline for all victims of hate crime on 0800 138 1625 or www.stophateuk.org. You can also download the Stop Hate UK reporting app on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

Across Merseyside, we also have a number of third party reporting centres including fire stations, citizens advice bureaus and hospitals. A list of locations can be viewed here:

merseyside-third-party-hate-crime-reporting-centres.pdf