Mum punched by man who tried to grab baby from her arms in Grimsby town centre
A PENSIONER was branded "every parent's nightmare" after trying to grab a baby from her mother's arms during a "nasty" attempted abduction.
He punched the terrified mother and repeatedly tried to wrestle the helpless tot from the woman's grasp, a court heard.
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Prison: Peter Lowe, jailed for two years.
Peter Lowe, 68, of Brough Court, Coulbeck Drive, Cleethorpes, admitted attempting to abduct a baby and assaulting her mother on June 27.
Chloe Fairley, prosecuting, told Grimsby Crown Court that the 20-year-old mother was holding her baby in her arms at a bus stop in Grimsby town centre.
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She leaned over to put her 11-month-old daughter in a pushchair when she felt pain from Lowe hitting the side of her stomach.
She lost her balance and lost her grip on the baby, causing the tot to fall through her arms.
Lowe grabbed the baby's arm. The mother was able to keep hold of her and there was a struggle, said Miss Fairley.
Lowe grabbed the mother's arm, squeezed it and punched her in the stomach, causing her to panic that she might lose her unborn baby.
She fell to her knees and Lowe grabbed the baby's foot and hand, trying to pull the tot from her mother's grip.
"Her daughter was screaming and crying out," said Miss Fairley.
A male member of the public started shouting at Lowe and he ran away.
He was later arrested after his description was circulated.
Andrew Bailey, mitigating, said it was a "nasty" incident and Lowe's behaviour was "every parent's nightmare".
It was a spur-of-the-moment offence and Lowe claimed he would "probably just have held" the baby.
"He presents a risk and that needs to be reduced," said Mr Bailey.
Lowe had been in custody for seven-and-a-half months.
He had shown remorse and suffered from mental health difficulties, including schizophrenia.
He had previously worked as a street cleaner, but had to leave that job because of taunts and abuse from children.
Judge David Tremberg told Lowe: "It's every parent's nightmare to have a stranger try to abduct their child, particularly in a case like this when it was a young woman who was on her own and 17 weeks' pregnant, and against whom you used some violence.
"Let this be a lesson to you and let this be the last time you ever appear before a criminal court," he said.
Lowe was jailed for two years.
22 Comments
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by kittyhitkit
Friday, February 15 2013, 8:03AM
“Bloody hell his nickname was Womble! Ain't seen him in years, I knew he had mental health issues & kids used to pick on him (hold my hands up i used to as a child, he used to freak us out over 25 years ago!!) but jeeze to try & snatch a baby & punch the mother who' s also pregnant. He needed sectioning a long time ago especially after his mother passed he became worse. He must of been thinking revenge for all the taunts he got thrown at him. Seriously not the way to go about it evil man! I remember him always arguing with himself & putting his fists towards him self as if he was going to punch the person in his head he was arguing with! Sad really that he spent all those years with no real help, he clearly needed it then, he obviously got a lot worse over the years. This most prob wouldn't of happened if he had the right care. Never the less its still disgusting & he deserves all he gets but I agree prison is not the right place for him! The young women & her young daughter must of been absolutely petrified.”
by davendogs
Friday, February 15 2013, 5:29AM
“Lets just hope girl and kiddy are okay. Pulling and tussling the child around would not have been good for kiddy.”
by Grantyy
Friday, February 15 2013, 12:52AM
“Agree with Davendogs, It says in Grimsby Towns centre, usually the busiest part of Gy and Clee, surely he shouldn't have been let to get away, of course the mother is not at all to blame and I can only guess that he was perhaps lucky and not many people saw the inident or understood the intent at the time, It's easy to say that I would have stopped him but as I say maybe he picked his moment well or people didn't quite grasp the seriousness of the incident, this guy needs more than just two years but a full scale psychiatric report doing on him and then some, a young childs life _IS_ at risk otherwise!”
by 4caster
Thursday, February 14 2013, 10:15PM
“This mother deserves a medal for protecting her baby girl from this maniac.
Thank heaven for the male passer-by who frightened the assailant off. Hopefully he and some others would have intervened more forcefully if shouting had not done the trick.
We all know that two years' prison really means one year and then parole. As he has already been in custody for seven and a half months, he will be out in four and a half months' time. But I doubt that prison will provide the mental health treatment that he needs.”
by lee_GTFC1
Thursday, February 14 2013, 9:29PM
“Goverment budget cuts kicking in
?”
by mistletoe50
Thursday, February 14 2013, 8:25PM
“The young pregnant girl springs to mind stabbed to death by a man with mental health problems , and i agree with davendogs , no one went to help the woman , im a female pensioner and i would have tried to help her , by giving him a good kick in the nuts ...”
by Ian_Gillan
Thursday, February 14 2013, 7:03PM
“Mental health problems, so he gets sent to a normal prison? Stupid judge.”
by xochitl
Thursday, February 14 2013, 5:48PM
“This side of the pond he would probably have been shot dead in most States.The shooter would then be given a framed certificate by the police department commending him/her for Civic Leadership. A front page story in the local paper and free beer in the local pub. And, of course, years of being able to bring up "Reminds me of that time I shot and killed that bloke" stories.”
by Wilderness
Thursday, February 14 2013, 5:40PM
“The guy's obviously got some serious mental health issues, and prison's not the place for him. He'll most likely come out without any meaningful treatment having taken place, and continue to be a risk to himself and members of the public. Trouble is it costs time and money we don't have, so it's easier for the establishment to send him down.
As far as the victim not receiving much assistance goes. That's a problem brought about by the "modern" judicial, policing, and health & safety rules we have. We've learned by example, and anecdotally not to "get involved", lest you find yourself up on a charge, or the victim of some sort of civil compensation claim. More and more people find it easier to look away and move on, rightly or wrongly.”
by williewonky
Thursday, February 14 2013, 4:54PM
“Some chavvy dole-bum has realised disabling cookies for the site enables warped ratings. Ignore them - we all do.
This guy needs the kicking of a lifetime. Hopefully ***** rules in prison will sort him out. Hopefully, he'll leave Her Majestys pleasure in a coffin. Though with those ears it'll be Y-shaped!
Scum.”