COURT

Taunton man sentenced for criminally damaging mosque

The windows of the Taunton Central Mosque & Islamic Centre on Tower Lane were damaged. <i>(Image: Google)</i>
The windows of the Taunton Central Mosque & Islamic Centre on Tower Lane were damaged. (Image: Google)
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A TAUNTON man has been sentenced in Magistrates' Court after criminally damaging the window of a mosque and Islamic Centre in Taunton.

The defendant, Alan Galloway, 35, of East Reach, Taunton, appeared in Taunton Magistrates' Court on September 25 of this year.

Galloway was previously charged with racially/religiously aggravated criminal damage and was found guilty by a jury at the end of his trial.

Galloway was sentenced for criminally damaging a window belonging to Taunton Central Mosque and Islamic Centre, formerly on Tower Lane, with intent to damage such property or by being reckless – an act that was religiously/racially aggravated - on the morning of September 6 of last year.

Galloway is subject to a restraining order until September 2027, requiring that he not enter the courtyard of the building or any part of the Taunton Central Mosque and Islamic Centre.

Galloway must also pay a fine of £180, a surcharge of £72 and £325 in costs.

Gideon Amos, MP for Taunton and Wellington, previously took to social media after the incident to criticise the act, saying those responsible are "not patriots” but are “weak and cowardly”.

He said: “The people who attacked and smashed the door of our local community centre and mosque are not welcome in our town.

“They aren’t patriots; they are weak and cowardly, and I completely condemn them."

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