Muslim man who attacked a 16-year-old boy he spotted cuddling his girlfriend in the street, jailed

The Muslim man, who branded a schoolgirl a ‘ whore’ and attacked her 16-year-old boyfriend , slamming his head into a wall after he spotted the couple cuddling, has been sentenced to a total of 28 months imprisonment on Monday, December 5th at Southwark Crown Court.

Michael Coe, a 35-year-old Muslim convert of Devenish Road, was found guilty onWednesday, 24 August of actual bodily harm (ABH) of the boy and common assault of a 31-year-old man who witnessed and took photos of the attack. Coe was sentenced to two years for the ABH and four months for the assault to run consecutively.

On Friday, 15 April, Coe, who described himself as a “self-appointed enforcer” of how Muslims should behave, pulled up in a silver Ford Focus on Wilson Road, E6 when he saw the victim and the boy’s 16-year-old girlfriend hugging at a bus stop. He told the boy to leave the girl alone, then got out of the car and asked if they were Muslim, after which he called the girl a “whore”.

When the boy remonstrated with Coe for speaking to his girlfriend in this way, Coe grabbed the boy by the throat and smashed his head against a wall.

The boy passed out, falling to the floor, and Coe kicked him in the head while his girlfriend helplessly looked on. Coe momentarily got back into the car but seeing that a man in the street was taking photos on his mobile phone, he got back out and tried to wrench the phone from his hands.
Unsuccessful, Coe picked the man identified as a schoolteacher Boutho Siwela, up and threw him to the floor, before driving off in the car. Both victims were taken to hospital. The teenager suffered cuts to his head; the other victim escaped without serious injuries as he was wearing a crash helmet at the time of the attack.

Detectives from Newham Borough were able to trace the Ford Focus as the 31-year-old man had caught the registration plate on his mobile phone. They then used the man’s photos of Coe to identify him as the perpetrator.

Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) took the lead for the investigation as they arrested Coe for these offences at the same time they arrested him for malicious communications. Coe was charged in relation to all three offences but the charge of malicious communications was later discontinued. Officers from SO15 retained the investigation into the assaults.

When Coe was arrested on Saturday, 16 Aprilhe claimed that he had assaulted the boy because he believed the girl was in distress but at court the prosecution argued that the attack by Muslim-convert Coe had religious overtones. He made no mention of kicking the boy in the head or assaulting the second victim during his police interview.

Chief Superintendent Tony Nash, Newham Borough commander, said:
“Coe tried to save himself from prosecution by purporting to be some kind of hero, coming to the rescue of a girl he had in fact been abusive to. It was fortunate that both victims did not suffer serious physical injuries, although the mental and emotional impact on them, and the teenage girl who witnessed the attack, is difficult to gauge. I’m grateful to the second victim, who bravely took photos of the incident, at risk to himself. This evidence enabled us to quickly identify Coe. He also provided crucial witness testimony at the trial.

The Muslim convert was radicalised in prison by al-Qaeda terrorist Dhiren Barot in 2007. He was known to be a member of the banned organisation al-Muhajiroun, which was founded by the convicted hate preacher Choudary.
Source: Met Police