A woman who launched and sustained and prolonged hate campaign against her next door neighbour, which was religiously and racially motivated, has been spared jail.
Cheryl McKeown, 32, was convicted of harassment without violence following a one-day trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court earlier this month after she targeted Muslim mum-of-five Koutar Mrimou and her family.
However, District Judge Michael Snow suspended her 26-week jail sentence for two years, ordering she instead be tagged as part of a curfew preventing her from leaving her address in Shepherd's Bush at night for the next six months.
The judge also placed a two-year restraining order on McKeown, forbidding her from contacting directly or indirectly the victim, her family and partner, and any witnesses in the trial.
News you might have missed
The court was told McKeown and Miss Mrimou were neighbours living in Imre Close when a row over dirty nappies soured what had been a cordial neighbourly relationship.
The court was told the offences started in August 2016 and continued into 2017.
Judge Snow said he accepted accounts McKeown had said to her neighbour: "Take your kids back where they belong. They don't belong here. You shouldn't be allowed to have children in this country."
One another occasion, she said in front of the victim's young teenage daughter: "Come out of your f****** house. I'm going to beat you up in front of your kids."
On another occasion, in January 2017, she said: "This is becoming an Islamic estate. Get your f****** children out of this country."
Another account included McKeown blowing cannabis smoke into the face of Miss Mrimou while she cradled her 18-month old son. She would also film Miss Mrimou's guests arriving or leaving her house and make vomiting noises.
Anita Reece, defending, urged the judge not to jail her client.
She claimed a pre-sentence report showed McKeown was unlikely to reoffend, and also said sending McKeown to jail would impact her children, aged nine and four.
McKeown also helped looked after her mother, who has Alzheimer's, while the defendant also suffered from mental health issues, the court heard.
"There's no need to imprison this woman," argued Ms Reece. "There will be no further reoffending. The chances of this offence erupting again are extremely low."
Sentencing McKeown, the judge described the abuse as "prolonged" and "sustained" which consisted of "threats and disgusting language".
"It was no doubt motivated by your dislike of the victim's religion," he said. "You used absolutely disgusting language and distinct hostility because of your warped views of her religion.
"This type of behaviour is corrosive to our society. The court must take a firm line, making it clear that this behaviour won't be tolerated."
As well as the suspended sentence, he placed McKeown under curfew at her home between the hours of 9pm and 5am and handed her a 30-day rehabilitation requirement.
She must also pay costs and £250 compensation to the victim, which he called "insignificant given the amount of distress" she had caused Miss Mrimou and her family.
The restraining order also prevents McKeown from contacting visitors entering or leaving her neighbour's home and from going on the footpath or approaching the front door of Mrs Mrimou.
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now.
