Yahoo Finance Man who kicked rough sleeper in the face asks to move prisons after getting death threats
A man convicted of assault on a rough sleeper has asked to be moved to a different prison after receiving death threats.
Video footage showed Theo Maulba kicking the man in the face as he sat outside Tesco Express on Dale Street in Liverpool city centre on 9 December.
Maulba, 24, is seen talking angrily to the "vulnerable" victim before kicking him, in a clip that went viral on social media and sparked an investigation after it was sent to police.
Maulba appeared in Sefton Magistrates' Court on Monday, where he admitted assault by beating and possession of a class B drug.
After he was handed a 16-week prison sentence, Maulba addressed the court to request to move prisons.
He said: “You know ‘cause I've had death threats, can you send me to a different prison?”
Carl Nadim, defending, had earlier told the court that Maulba had received death threats as a result of the footage being posted on social media.
District judge Wendy Lloyd told Maulba that a request for him to be moved from HMP Liverpool in Hornby Road, Walton, would be made.
The court heard how Maulba kicked his victim in the head, which “caused his head to recoil”.
Police were later provided with the footage and approached the victim, who did not wish to provide an interview and "said he did not report the incident”.
After Maulba was identified, police attended his address and discovered spice, a synthetic drug.
He has 27 convictions for 35 offences including two offences of common assault in 2010 and 2013 respectively.
Nadim, defending, said Maulba admitted the offences at the earliest opportunity and that he and the victims were friends.
Nadim said that both the defendant and the victim receive benefits and Maulba spent his money on spice, with the victim expected to do the same.
He said: "They had the spice and he was meant to reciprocate the next day with Maulba meeting the victim and them embarking on a spice session.
"The next day when Maulba attended, his friend hasn't been present and he hasn't been able to find him.”
Nadim told the court Maulba had previously been the victim of a serious assault and that he wants to get help for his "problem with spice”.
Following the court hearing, Detective Inspector Jennie Beck, of Merseyside Police, said: “Maulba will now spend the festive season and new year behind bars, and I hope he spends that time thinking very hard about his behaviour that night, and the impact it has had.
“Thankfully the victim was not seriously hurt, but his actions appalled and upset so many.
“He is now in prison and safe from hurting anyone else so mindlessly on our streets.”
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