Councillor taunted as she tackled park yobs
A district councillor who tried to rid her local park of gangs of yobs ended up being a target of their taunts, during a frightening ordeal, a court heard.
Harry Batista-Crespo harassed Councillor Maureen Freeman outside her home in Cannock, Staffordshire, and in the nearby park, calling her "an informer" and "a snitch."
On one occasion, when 68-year-old Miss Freeman had gone to the park with a fellow councillor, also a woman, to identify trouble hotspots, they were left paralysed with fear by a group of up to 15 youths, including Batista-Crespo.
One of the mob cycled at speed towards the pair and circled them on his bike, stopping them in their tracks, Cannock magistrates heard. Miss Freeman, a former police officer, told the court: "I simply froze. So did my colleague. I couldn't even use my mobile I was so frightened."
She said Batista-Crespo bellowed the words "snitch" and "grasser" at her in a mocking manner. The wom-en left the park and immediately contacted the police.
Ten days earlier, on July 15, the teenager had come face-to-face with her outside her apartment, which overlooks the park, and told his companion in a loud voice: "There's the informer."
The 19-year-old, of Att-ingham Drive, Heath Hayes, was banned from Cannock Park in August. In his def-ence, Rob Perry said he had turned over a new leaf and was now working as an app-rentice.
At a trial yesterday he denied harassment but was found guilty. He was given a 12-month restraining order, banning him from contacting Councillor Freeman, and ordered to pay a total of £820 in costs and fines.
Afterwards she told the Express & Star: "I had to go through with the court case because no-one should have to live like I did. The problems had been going on since March and I'd stopped using the park even though it's on my doorstep."
