Tag for Hove pensioner, 77, along with curfew after 'offensive' graffiti spree
By : Frank le Duc
A 77-year-old man who tagged dozens of buildings across Hove with "offensive" graffiti must wear a tag and obey a curfew after being sentenced by a crown court judge.
Bahman Khorsandian
Bahman Khorsandian, of Hogarth Road, Hove, admitted scrawling phrases such as "Death to Islam" and "Curse on Islam" over eight to months until June last year.
Khorsandian was caught on security cameras as he daubed a bakery in the small hours of the morning, Hove Crown Court was told.
He also targeted a Jewish community centre, a charity shop and people's homes and businesses month after month from October 2018 until he was caught.
The offences were concentrated on buildings in Portland Road, Blatchington Road, George Street, Church Road and Western Road.
Judge Martin Huseyin sentenced Khorsandian to stay indoors overnight from 10pm to 8am for eight months as part of a community order and to wear an electronic tag.
The judge also banned Khorsandian from going out in public with marker pens or anything else that he could use to daub graffiti for two years.
Khorsandian was ordered to pay £1,200 in compensation to Brighton and Hove City Council after the court was told that the council had spent thousands of pounds cleaning off the offensive scrawl.
Sussex Police said today (Thursday 6 August): "A man who pleaded guilty to committing offences of racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage by daubing graffiti on buildings in Hove has been ordered to stay in his home overnight and pay compensation.
"Bahman Khorsandian, 77, of Hogarth Road, Hove, appeared at Hove Crown Court on Friday 19 June and admitted the offences after police carried out an investigation into 80 reports of anti-Islamic graffiti being daubed on homes and businesses in George Street, Church Road, Blatchington Road, Portland Road and Western Road between October 2018 and June 2019.
"Khorsandian was captured on CCTV committing the offences and he was arrested after police issued a CCTV image and appeal to identify him on social media.
"When the graffiti was translated it was deemed to be offensive.
"After appearing at Hove Crown Court on Friday 17 July, Khorsandian was sentenced to a community order to remain at his home between the hours of 10pm to 8pm for eight months and to be electrically monitored, banned from possessing any material which could be used for graffiti in a public place for two years and ordered to pay £1,200 compensation to the council for the cost of removing the graffiti."
Chief Inspector Dee Wells said: "We take all reports of hate crime seriously and will be robust in dealing with this offences.
"This graffiti was criminal damage and offensive to some members of our local community."
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