Teenager Sentenced for Role in Hotel Riot, Citing Desire to ‘Impress Crush’

A teenage girl stated her participation in a riot outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers was motivated by a desire to “impress her crush”. The 16-year-old, whose identity is protected due to her age, “tagged along” to the site of the disturbance at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers, Rotherham, on 4 August. She subsequently pleaded guilty to violent disorder, stating she had collected and thrown stones at police “in an act of stupidity”. On Wednesday at Sheffield Youth Court, she received a 12-month intensive referral order and was ordered to pay £111 in costs. The court heard that although the girl was recorded throwing “stones or rubble,” there was no evidence indicating the projectiles struck or harmed anyone. Helen White, representing the defense, stated that her client acknowledged attending the riot but denied any racist motivation. “It was nothing more than following a boy to the scene, she wanted to impress him, she had a bit of a crush on him,” Ms White commented. Ms White added, “She didn’t link the consequences of her behaviour with the actual impact it could have on the victims.” “It’s fair to say immaturity played a huge part here,” Ms White concluded. According to Ms White, the teenager had no prior convictions and “bitterly regrets” her participation. The girl, who is the initial female to be sentenced in relation to the Manvers riot, informed the judge: “I’m not going to do anything like that ever again.” When delivering the sentence, Judge Marcus Waite instructed her to “stay out of trouble.”