A TEESDALE family say they feel “let down” after discovering the man who attacked their son will not have a criminal record and will be allowed to keep his job as a prison officer.
As previously reported, student Ben Matthews, 18, from Startforth, was left with cuts and bruises to his face in the unprovoked attack on Grangefields in February.
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that Mr Matthews’ attacker is a serving prison officer. It emerged last week that he has kept his job following a disciplinary hearing. A Prison Service spokesman said: “An officer at HMYOI Deerbolt has been given a final warning following an incident in which he mistakenly believed prison security was under threat.”
Mr Matthews’, mum Jo Law and stepfather Peter Law say they are disgusted by how Durham Police and the Prison Service have handled the matter. Mrs Law said: “The prison governor from Deerbolt phoned me to tell me that following a disciplinary hearing my son’s attacker was to get a final written warning and was going to be allowed to keep his job.”
She added: “This means the prison officer will be able to keep his job, get on with his life and not have a criminal record, whereas Ben will live with the mental scars of this attack for the rest of his life.”
Mr Matthews said of the attack: “I was walking along and this man tried talking to me and claimed he was an under cover prison officer and he needed to see inside my bag.”
When Mr Matthews refused he says the man dragged him off the main road, into an unlit cul-de-sac where he was pushed to the ground and was punched “five or six times” . Neighbours alerted by Mr Matthews’ screams had to pull the prison officer away.
Mr Matthews suffered severe bruising to his right cheek, a bleed to his right eye as well as cuts to his face and gums.
Instead of being charged with assault, the attacke was put on the community Checkpoint scheme run by Durham Police. Checkpoint offers eligible offenders an opportunity to address the underlying reasons why they committed the crime in the first place.
The family say they didn’t agree to this and wanted justice in the courts.
But Det Insp Andy Crowe, Checkpoint lead officer for Durham Police, said: “The victim’s families were consulted regarding the disposal options in this case.
“The offender has been taken on to the Checkpoint programme.
He added: “Checkpoint is harder to complete than all the current out of court options such as a caution or a fixed penalty notice.”
Mr Crowe added that he believed the family had been treated fairly and have received a considerable amount of support. He said: “The family have declined to take up the option of restorative justice.”
Restorative justice focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large. Mrs Law said: “They wanted Ben to sit in the same room and talk to his attacker – he just couldn’t do it.”
The family moved to Startforth just over two years ago because they liked the area. This incident has now tarnished their view.
Mr Law said “We love the area – the countryside is beautiful but the attack on Ben has tarred us living here and we are now thinking of moving.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “Decisions on charging someone with a criminal offence are made by the police and Crown Prosecution Service. In this case, no charges were brought after an investigation.”
The spokesman added: “The governor is meeting with Ben Matthews and his family to explain the decision and the incident has been separately investigated by the police.”
