A 38-year-old man has been jailed for 30 months for forcefully shoving a frail 78-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer to the ground in Hebburn, South Tyneside, breaking her back and arm. Dean McLellan, who has 21 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court.
Attack outside shop
The victim, who has Alzheimer's to the extent she lacks capacity for her own affairs, was living alone with the help of carers and retained some independence, including being able to leave home for limited local journeys. Just before 9pm on June 23, she went to the Best One shop in Hebburn.
As she left, she encountered McLellan, who was with a woman and a young child in a pushchair. McLellan, wearing shorts and no top and carrying a bottle, spoke to the pensioner, and she gave him something believed to be money before he went into the shop. While he was inside, the victim spoke to the woman in what prosecutor Richard Herrmann described as a "perfectly friendly and good-natured conversation" about the baby.
Unprovoked push
Mr Herrmann said: "She stood in front of the pushchair and bent down and engaged with the baby. The defendant came out of the store and stood behind the pushchair while she was leaning in front of it. She stood up and within a second or so the defendant, who can be seen to be a large and powerfully built individual, moved a step to the side of the pushchair and, without any warning whatsoever, with his right hand pushed or shoved (the victim) with sufficient force to cause her to fall backwards onto the ground."
The victim was able to tell her daughter that McLellan said "out of my f****** way" before the assault, which was described as "wholly unprovoked and wholly unjustified and unjustifiable." The pensioner was taken to hospital with a broken wrist and a fractured vertebrae in her back.
Callous aftermath
CCTV footage showed McLellan was "utterly unconcerned" about the woman he had pushed, taking hold of the pram as if to walk away. The female with him stopped him, clearly concerned, and appeared to order him to leave. He made off without checking on her, while the woman stayed with the pensioner until emergency services arrived.
The victim's daughter, who read a victim impact statement in court, said she was "angry sickened and traumatised" by what happened. Her mother's wrist remains in a splint, and she cannot hold a cup of tea, feed herself, bathe herself, or get dressed unaided. The daughter said: "I've seen a massive change. She's not the person she was. This assault has had life changing effects. We all feel devastated by this one person's actions. The pain he has caused is unreal."
Judge's condemnation
Jailing McLellan, Judge Tom Moran said the interaction with the woman and child was the kind of thing the victim enjoyed and made life worthwhile for her. He added: "Everything changed when you came out. For reasons only you can explain you said 'out of my f****** way'. What happened next is clearly shown on CCTV. Any right-thinking person observing the CCTV would say 'what sort of person does that?' You forcefully pushed an obviously frail and vulnerable woman. Almost as shocking is what you did next. While she was lying in agony, having been thrown backwards by you, you were totally uninterested and callously and casually went on your way. Shame on you for such despicable behaviour."
Jason Smith, defending, said: "It's stupidity and frankly a horrid act by the defendant and he accepts that. It's a gross act, a gross act of stupidity, mean. He's very sorry indeed." Mr Smith added that McLellan cares for his own mother and has three children.
