MAIL ONLINE: A thug who ripped off a Muslim woman's headscarf as she passed him in the street says he's 'ashamed' of what he did.
Stephen Ard was handed a 16-week jail sentence, suspended for a year, after he admitted a charge of religiously aggravated assault.
Leicester magistrates also ordered him to pay his victim £1,000 compensation after hearing he was drunk at the time of the incident which took place in October in the Highfields area of the city.
His victim Rehana Sidat told the court she felt 'invaded' by the attack and is still scared to walk the streets alone.
Ard, 29, walked free after writing a letter of apology to the court. He said he felt 'ashamed and embarrassed' by his behaviour.
Miss Sidat, 28, was walking to her job at a drop-in centre for people with learning difficulties when her attacker suddenly snatched the veil - also called the niqab - from her face.
She said Ard's actions had left her 'emotionally and psychologically' hurt. >>>| Tuesday, December 15, 2009
