Man jailed for offering a £500 bribe to assault victim (From Redditch Advertiser)

Man jailed for offering a £500 bribe to assault victim

5:10pm Friday 28th September 2012 in News

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for offering a £500 bribe to an assault victim to drop the case against his attacker.

Sean Ward was heard to make the offer to Benjamin Hughes in a Redditch pub, said Laura Culley, prosecuting at Worcester Crown Court.

Ward, of Cherry Tree Walk, Redditch, who pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice, was sent to prison for four months.

Judge John Cavell also activated a four-month suspended jail sentence but ordered it to be concurrent.

Miss Culley said Mr Hughes had been the victim of an unprovoked attack in Redditch town centre on February 5 by Wesley Teague.

He had been knocked unconscious and lost three teeth after being punched in the mouth.

A month later, Ward had approached Mr Hughes and asked him to drop the case if he received £500.

This made Mr Hughes nervous but nothing happened before Teague was brought before a court and jailed for 16 months.

Ward told police that he wanted to get back at Teague who had slept with his ex-girlfriend.

But Diljit Bahada, defending, said this statement had been retracted.

Ward had not realised that his action could result in a charge of perverting the course of justice.

He worked in the family business and his action was not premeditated.