A Gravesend man has been jailed following repeated racial harassment and abuse which included threats to throw acid in a person’s face.
his two victims over a period of five months, with warnings he would also use a petrol bomb to harm their family.
Tester, 29, of Havengore Avenue, Gravesend was responsible for a series of offences, carried out between August and December 2021.
Abuse and threats
These included hurling a brick though a window of a property and leaving an improvised petrol bomb on a car belonging to one of the victims. A note was attached to the glass bottle, with threats to ‘blow every one of you out’.
Other incidents included Tester throwing paint over a car and he also sent racist messages to one of the victims, with threats he would be stabbed or harmed with acid.
Tester was arrested on 20 December 2021. An investigation included CCTV and forensic evidence, with his fingerprint detected on adhesive tape used to attach the note to the bottle left on the car.
Appearing before Maidstone Crown Court, Tester pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment and two counts of criminal damage.
On 19 August 2022, he was sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment. He was also made the subject of a restraining order, lasting ten years.
Justice for hate crime victims
Inspector Allen Searle, of the Gravesham and Dartford Victim Based Crime Team, said: ‘Tester has subjected his victims to a prolonged period of appalling and terrifying abuse. The glass bottle he left on their car contained accelerants and a rag for lighting, and it was just one of a number of chilling threats which no doubt left those he targeted in real fear for their safety.
‘Victims of hate crime need not suffer in silence and we encourage them to report all incidents to us. Offenders should also be aware that crimes motivated by hate, carry a longer prison sentence and we will do everything in our power to secure this.
‘In this instance the racial elements of these offences led to an uplift in the sentence of six months.’