Thugs carried out 'sustained' attack on Brampton street

Carlisle Crown Court heard how Paul Oley, 41, and his teenaged accomplice Harvey Oliver, who is now 19, subjected their victim to a sustained attack which included punching and kicking.

It began at around 7.30pm on July 17, 2020, shortly after the victim saw Oliver standing near to a lamppost.

The man greeted the teenager – at which point Oley suddenly came “flying round the corner” and attacked him.

Both defendants joined the attack, the court heard.

Oliver pulled the man to the ground as Oley laid into him, the court heard.

Oley was heard to say: “Now that your cousin’s dead, we’ll deal with you.” The attackers kicked and punched.

Fearing he would be knocked unconscious, the man let out a loud yell, prompting the attackers to back off. He then fled to his mother’s house but as he left he noticed that Oley and Oliver were waiting for him.

They chased him, at one point Oley tripping him up.

After he fell, the man was again attacked, being stamped on and having a bottle thrown at him. As neighbours became involved, Oliver ran off but Oley followed the man into his mother’s house – but the woman told him to leave and he did so.

The victim suffered a black eye and bruises and grazes. The court heard a victim impact statement, in which the man said what happened had left him fearful of leaving him home. His young son too was affected, said the man.

The child suffered nightmares and had retreated into his shell, so that he would not leave his father's side. Whent he child saw Oliver in Brampton, he had clung to his father and cried, said the man.

Both defendants admitted affray.

Judith McCullough, mitigating, said that Oley, of High Mill, Alston, was a former soldier who had suffered a childhood trauma.

“These proceedings have been a salutary lesson for him and he will not be back before the courts,” said the barrister. Miss McCullough said that no matter what beliefs he may have held, Oley now knew that he should not have taken the law into his own hands.

“He knows there were other options he could have and should have taken that night,” said Miss McCullough. “He has well and truly learned his lesson.”

Oley was facing and dealing with his demons and was to be helped by an Army psychiatrist through the Royal British Legion.

Claire Larton, for Oliver, of Townfoot Park, Brampton, accepted that he had not yet accepted full responsibility for his offending – despite him having pleaded guilty to the affray allegation.

Immaturity was at the heart of his offending, said the barrister. She pointed out that the defendant was 17 at the time of the attack.

Judge Nicholas Barker noted the impact of the attack on the victim in in particular the “significant impact” on his young son.

“This was a prolonged act of violence in a public place, targeted on an individual – and it was sustained,” said the judge.

But the judge said he was just persuaded that the sentence he would impose on the two defendants could be suspended given that they had “just about done enough” to demonstrate that they are serious about rehabilitation.

The judge imposed ten months jail on Oley, suspending the term for two years. He must complete 25 days of rehabilitation and serve a four-month overnight curfew as punishment.

Oliver was given eight months in a young offenders’ institution, also suspended for two years. He must complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and complete 160 hours of unpaid work.

He must also complete a thinking skills course.

As the two defendants left the dock of the court, Judge Barker told them: “You can both consider yourselves extremely fortunate; it’s a tightrope you are walking.”

Both men have previous criminal convictions. On Oliver's record are 26 previous offences while Oley has 29. The judge imposed a five-year restraining order, banning any contact with the victim for that period.

Nor can either man enter St Martin's Close, Brampton, or St Martin's Drive under the terms of that order.