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An offender found himself in grave trouble when he refused to do unpaid work in a churchyard.
Omar Bacek gave his painting task the brush off, declaring it was dead “boring”, a court heard.
The 20-year-old thug was “breached” by his supervisor and now he has been locked up in a young offenders’ institute.
Bacek, of Mortimer Street, Herne Bay, had in January been sentenced to 200 hours unpaid work for assault causing actual bodily harm in which he attacked a man with his belt outside the Casino Rooms in Rochester in February last year.
He completed almost 97 hours of the order but then downed tools at the graveyard in the village of Chilham in June.
“His behaviour was disgraceful,” prosecutor Bridget Todd told Maidstone Crown Court. “He was abusive to staff members and continued in such a fashion he was warned by supervisors.
“He was asked to leave. He became more abusive. The order has now become completely unworkable and I ask for it to be revoked.”
Gemma Burns, defending, said Bacek felt he had not been given a fair chance.
“He has completed almost half the required hours,” she said. “He admits he was caught answering his mobile phone.
“He became bored effectively with the painting work. He feels remorse. He has assured me if he were given another chance he would not behave in this manner again.”
Judge Jeremy Carey said: “Time and again when I have contact with the probation service as they work hard to make unpaid work a meaningful experience and one that deserves punishment, what they don’t understand is that judges seem to be lenient about it.
“So I need some persuading that I should not send this young man to prison.”
Miss Burns said Bacek had enrolled in a college construction course to start next month and had made plans for his future. This matter was extreme foolishness and immaturity.”
“The consequence of your offending was that you knuckle down and get on with unpaid work, not tell the supervisor to ----- off or turn your trousers up and behave in a clever Dick way" - Judge Jeremy Carey
The judge said of unpaid work supervisors: “They won’t have him back, and I don’t blame them. He has behaved appallingly, telling them to ---- off.”
Asked what the alternative to youth custody could be, Miss Burns said a suspended sentence could be imposed with conditions of a thinking skills course and anger management.
But sentencing Bacek to three months inside, Judge Carey told him: “I have to decide whether you should be given a further chance. Your failure is such that you should not now be given a further opportunity.
“The consequence of your offending was that you knuckle down and get on with unpaid work, not tell the supervisor to ----- off or turn your trousers up and behave in a clever Dick way.
“Whether you will be released in time to do the course in Wales is not a matter I have control over. It may be you will be released within 28 days, in which case you may go to Wales.”
The judge added: “That is the consequence of what you have done. Make sure you don’t fall into error in future.”
