Plan B Forum

Magistrate warned for scum jibe

A magistrate who described two boys as "absolute scum" for vandalising Blackburn Cathedral has been warned he could face disciplinary action.

Austin Malloy has been removed from his post as chairman of the bench while he is investigated by the Judicial Office of Communications (JCO).

He criticised the two 16-year-olds at the town's youth court after they caused £3,000 worth of damage.

The JCO said what happened was currently being investigated.

The court was told that the teenagers, who cannot be named because of their ages, wrote sexual and racist graffiti on prayer books and bent an ancient St John the Baptist cross after being invited to have a look around the cathedral.

'Mindless act'

On sentencing them during Thursday's hearing, he said: "This court is disgusted by the mindless destruction you have caused. Normal people would consider you absolute scum."

Both boys were fined and given supervision orders.

Mr Malloy said the other magistrates agreed with his comments, but the clerk in the court stood up and said she objected to his description of them.

The part-time magistrate, who has been on the bench for the past 18 years, said: "I have no regrets whatsoever, I made an appropriate statement about what they had done.

"It was an unprovoked, terrible mindless act."

He has received countless messages of support after discovering he had to stand down as chairman of the bench while an investigation is carried out.

He said that no date for his return as chairman of the bench has been set.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/u ... 688504.stm

Published: 2010/05/17 20:26:37 GMT

Long Run wrote:He should have said the two yutes "Acted like absolute scum", and he could have avoided the whole after-affair.

Scum
A pejorative term for somebody of low moral standards.

The father of a vandal branded 'absolute scum' by a magistrate has backed the JP, saying he should get his job back.

JP Austin Molloy made the comments when sentencing two 16-year-old boys for writing racist and sexually-abusive graffiti in prayer books, and bending a priceless John The Baptist cross out of shape at Blackburn Cathedral, causing £3,000 damage.

The furious father said: 'I totally agree with what Mr Molloy said and I've not got a problem with him whatsoever. I back Mr Molloy 100 per cent.

'As far as I am concerned, Mr Molloy should get his job back. The whole family is absolutely disgusted with what my son has done and he knows we are disgusted.'

Grandfather-of-one Mr Molloy - who has been a magistrate for 18 years - was banned from acting as chairman of the bench while an investigation is completed.

The culprit's father added: 'Some of the comments people are making about us as parents are out of order.

'I've worked my whole life and my son was brought up as a Catholic boy going to church, so why he has done what he has done, I don't know.

'I am going to have to pay his fine, so all these people saying we are on a free ride are wrong. I'm not on a free ride and I've been fined for something I didn't do.

'But he is not going to get away with it and he will be punished.'

His son, known as Boy A, was given an 18-month supervision order and ordered to pay £1,500 compensation costs after pleading guilty to damaging the cross.

Boy B was given a 12-month supervision order and ordered to pay £100 for vandalising prayer books at the cathedral in Lancashire.

The mother of Boy B has since made an official complaint, but Boy A's father said: 'There will certainly be no official complaint from me.

'He has been a stupid boy. My family are church-going people who just can't understand why he did it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0oQf1cDL7

The mother of Boy B has since made an official complaint