Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson angry at sentence for bike attack

Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson has slammed a sentence given to a robber who attacked a teenager in a city centre street labelling the punishment as '˜pitiful.'
Stewart JacksonStewart Jackson
Stewart Jackson

Mr Jackson made the comments after 19-year-old Aigars Maslakovics was locked up for 12 months at Cambridge Crown Court by Judge David Fuller.

Maslakovics, of Crown Street, Peterborough, punched the 16-year-old youth in the head, kicked him and stole his bike.

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The MP said the boy had needed a metal plate inserted into his cheek as a result of the attack.

Aigars MaslakovicsAigars Maslakovics
Aigars Maslakovics

Maslakovics denied one count of robbery, but was found guilty by a jury following a two day trial at Peterborough Crown Court on January 12. He had been arrested by police after being identified by the victim who recognised him on social media.

Speaking after the court case finished Mr Jackson said he was asking for a review of the result.

He said: “The sentence is pathetic and it is pitiful. I know the attack affected the family deeply. A law abiding citizen should not be set upon in a city street, and the sentence should reflect this to deter others from doing the same in the future.”

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Last week it was revealed the number of violent crimes in Peterborough had risen by 15 per cent in the past 12 months. The number of robberies also rose from 245 to 302.

Aigars MaslakovicsAigars Maslakovics
Aigars Maslakovics

Mr Jackson said he thought the sentence was a ‘let down’ for the victim and the police officers who helped bring him to justice.

He said: “People should not have to tolerate this. It not only lets the victims down, but also the police who have put a lot of work in to bring the offender to justice. I written to Robert Buckland MP, the Solicitor General, asking for a review of this case. The judge who passed this sentence needs a kick up the backside for imposing this jail term for such a serious offence.

“We do not want lenient sentences for crimes committed in Peterborough.”

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In his letter to Mr Buckland he said: “Many of my constituents have reiterated their disgust at the length of the sentence and are also rightly demanding this be reviewed.”

The court was told the teenager was cycling along Princes Gate in Peterborough city centre at about 2.30pm on Tuesday, July 14, last year when the brutal attack happened.

His path was blocked by two men on bicycles, and a third man ran up behind him. One of the men on the bikes, Maslakovics, punched the victim in the back of the head. The schoolboy was kicked in the ribs, and then pushed to the ground with his brand new bike.

Following his arrest Maslakovics admitted to police he had been involved but claimed he and the two others had stopped the boy as they thought the victim’s bike was stolen.

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He also admitted being involved in taking the young victim’s bike, but denied being involved in the brutal attack.

Maslakovics was charged with robbery and found guilty on January 12 after a two-day trial at Peterborough Crown Court. He appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to one year in prison.

DC Kevin Poole, who investigated the case said he welcomed the sentence handed out by the court.

He said: “We will not tolerate behaviour of this kind in our city and the sentence passed today shows these crimes will not be taken lightly.”