Charlene Johnston was sentenced to five months in prison, suspended for a period of 12 months, at Magherafelt magistrate’s court, Northern Ireland. (Google Maps)
A young mother mother in Mid Ulster, Northern Ireland, called a woman a “lesbian b*****d” before attacking her in broad daylight, a court heard.
Charlene Johnston, 21, of Queens Avenue, Magherafelt, appeared at the local magistrate’s court via video link.
The court heard that she attacked her victim in 2017 before threatening to kill just over a week later, according to Derry Now.
During the first incident, which took place on Rainey Street, Magherafelt, Johnston called the woman a “lesbian b*****d” twice, and punched her in the face and neck. She then held her down by standing and sitting on her, the court heard.
Just eight days later, she again met the victim in the street and threatened her life, shouting at her: “You better run, I’m going to get you and kill you.”
The victim, who had just recently come out as gay, began to run away, but Johnston chased after her while shouting at her. The only word the victim could make out was “snitch”.
When she was interviewed, Johnston denied any involvement in either incident and insisted she did not know the victim at all. At the time of the second incident, she claimed that she had been home all night.
Johnston’s defence lawyer, Michael Forde, told the Northern Ireland court that the crimes had happened “a long time ago” when she was still a teenager, and that the perpetrator was now a young mother with caring duties who had changed her ways.
Forde also said that there had been no contact between the two parties since the attack.
However, district judge Oonagh Mullan ruled that Johnston should be to five months in prison, suspended for a period of 12 months.
She was handed three months for common assault, one month for resisting police and two months for making threats to kill, to run consecutively.