A motorcyclist who punched a cyclist taking part in a World Naked Bike Ride, causing him to crash, before assaulting two police officers, has avoided a prison sentence.
Lee Turnage, a 46-year-old binman, was riding his motorbike through Colchester during the city’s annual naked bike ride event on Saturday 9th August, held in conjunction with several other events around the world.
The prosecution told the court that Turnage was first spotted making indecent gestures and “shaping his fist” as he rode his motorcycle past the group on Hythe Hill.
The cyclist then reported he heard Turnage’s engine revving before seeing the motorcyclist perform a U-turn to head back up the hill. 46-year-old Turnage then punched the cyclist in the head, causing him to crash. The court later heard he believed the cyclists to be “sexual predators” and “perverts”. The cyclist suffered grazing to his hands, arms and legs and his e-bike was broken beyond repair by the crash.
When police later arrived at the Leather Bottle pub to arrest Turnage, an altercation broke out between Turnage and two officers, with one requiring treatment to glue their ear back together after it was torn, Essex Live reports.
Turnage admitted two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, criminal damage, assault of a constable in execution of their duty, and carrying a bladed article in a public place. He was sentenced on Monday to to a total of 14 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Turnage was ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation days, 75 hours of unpaid work and pay £2,000 in compensation to the cyclist. He also had his driving licence revoked and was ordered to pay a £200 fine.
In defence and mitigation, the court heard that the incidents were “completely out of character” and that he “wasn’t in the best headspace that day” because “he [was] caring for his grandmother and wanted to go for a haircut”.
Essex Live reported that Turnage’s caring responsibilities and previous good character were key to the 46-year-old avoiding a custodial sentence.
The World Naked Bike Rides are held in multiple cities in the UK and have attracted attention before. They typically protest against car dependency and both a domestic and global reliance on fossil fuels. But they can go further.
Notably last month, a naked bike ride was organised in the American city of Portland, Oregon to protest against President Donald Trump’s planned deployment of the military on the streets, and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The protest notably attracted the wrath of Trump ally Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The assault in Colchester is also not the only attack on naked cyclists in this country in recent years. An event marshal in Coventry suffered a broken elbow after being attacked by masked aggressors in 2022. Two tandem cyclists were also knocked off their bike in Perthshire by a driver who “deliberately swerved” into them.
The organisers of the World Naked Bike Ride emphasise their events each year are cleared in advance with the police. Public nudity is not illegal in Britain unless there is intent to cause alarm or distress to others.
30 thoughts on “Man who considered World Naked Bike Ride cyclist a “pervert”, punched him off bike and attacked police officers spared prison sentence”
There. Are. No. Words.
…
There. Are. No. Words.
…
EddyBerckx wrote:
I think there have to be, though.
He tore a policeman’s ear.
He tore a policeman’s ear!
Now, I know wtjs would like to bend their ear, but this is not a difference of opinion, or an oversight or an accident. If you’re attacking two police officers to the extent that you’re trying to rip off body parts, you’re very much being intentional. That is your character.
I take it his granny was riding pillion and egged him on.
If you think Granny slamming your hair style is an excuse to take it out on those around you, you’re a snowflake.
Given that the motorcyclist
Given that the motorcyclist performed a U-turn specifically to punch a cyclist in the head, this behaviour was clearly planned and intentional. “Previously good character” probably just means that they had the same skin colour as the judge.
This is exactly the kind of person that needs to be kept behind bars for at least a short while to protect the rest of us.
Yes. I meant to say earlier
Yes. I meant to say earlier that “previously good character” is just a legal reference to the fact that he has not been caught before.
His character has clearly been bubbling away under the radar for a while.
Haircut, my arse!*
(* no, I haven’t. It can lead to folicular abscesses)
GMBasix wrote:
He had such a “good character” that it must have just been an accident that he was carrying a knife.
It’s a shame that the police can’t push for a retrial with a different judge – they have to deal with violent idiots in the streets and then the judge just lets them back out with a light slap on the wrist.
Oh, you misunderstand. The
Oh, you misunderstand. The knife was needed to cut an apple so he could get one of his five a day.
Surreyrider wrote:
Doesn’t he have teeth?
I agree – almost certainly
I agree – almost certainly this doesn’t emerge from a vacuum.
*But* … we should also note the very high value the legal system generally places on not drawing inferences like that and even (for the conviction part, not the sentence) not bringing in “and they’ve done it or similar 20 times before” as that might predispose the jury to think they’ve done it again rather than sticking only to the evidence for this case.
Obviously the judge then gets the additional information. That allows them in sentencing to say “I see this is the 29th time you’ve been before a court for speeding and driving without a licence … however I see you have problems with alcohol you are addressing and i must not close the door to rehabilitation” and give them another year’s driving ban…
I have a “good character”
I have a “good character” without any convictions or charges to my name; if when out cycling I beat up a motorcyclist for no other reason than personal prejudice and caused their machine to be damaged beyond repair and then tore off the ear of a police officer who came to arrest me (and was found to be carrying a knife as well) I would fully expect to be getting my breakfast free from His Majesty for several months to come, and quite rightly so. Swap “cyclist” for “senior citizen on a mobility scooter” or “young mother pushing her baby in a pram” and would the law have been so lenient? I would lay odds not; consciously or subconsciously, a cyclist’s life and well-being simply doesn’t rank as highly as that of other human beings in the minds of many people charged with administering the law.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Typical entitled, freeloading cyclist! I bet you’d expect a Peleton in the cell, too!
Given Peleton’s seat post
Given Peleton’s seat post issues, I’m sure his cell mate could give him a similar experience without the expense.
Rendel Harris wrote:
But the ‘bladed article’ was clearly only for the purposes of the haircut – it’s not fair to punish them for that.
mdavidford wrote:
Some of the monstrosities inflicted on my barnet (back in the days when I had one) with bladed articles should definitely have been classed as criminal offences.
A suspended sentence for
A suspended sentence for battering a member of the public and a police officer is an absolute joke.
Between the usless police, useless judiciary and the prisons accidentally letting people out there is now zero deterent to scumbags.
To be fair to Turnage, it was
To be fair to Turnage, it was entirely reasonable to assume the naked cyclists were sexual predators and perverts. I believe they do regularly arrange group bike rides, trips to Filey etc. And what better way to manipulate and attract sexual prey than riding a bike in a naked peleton.
Also, never underestimate the stress of a haircut : “Do I get tramlines? Do I get corn rows? Will it fit under my crash helmet? Will the Turkish barber ask me how old I am and how many children I have?”
Seems like the defence are insulting the judge and jury’s intelligence.
I realise that when reports
I realise that when reports say ‘x, y and z were given in mitigation’ this will be by the defence team, and not something that the court accepts to be true, but I note, thanks to the link in the article, that this is the same motorbike driver who had a ‘FOL ULEZ’ sticker on his bike.
No doubt he’d spent far more time than is healthy in Facebook groups and similar where conspiracy theories about Low Emission Zones, 15 minute cities and the war on motorists were rife. I don’t for one second believe that his violence wasn’t the manifestation of an anger at cyclists that had been building over time. It’s probably outwith the remit of a regular trial, but I would like to see an exploration as to how or why an apparently functioning member of society, stressed about getting to his hair appointment, would could reach the point of being so angry that they abandoned those plans to commit violence.
I tend towards avoiding not wanting people sent to jail unless there is genuine merit in it, especially with current over-crowding. And if he really is a carer for his granny, that should be considered. But he’s also a man that was carrying a blade, and these were not the actions of a man who had never been in a scrap before. As well as spending too much time on dodgy websites, he appears to have severe anger management issues, and I hope those are addressed as part of his rehabilitation.
I agree with you about trying
I agree with you about trying to avoid jailing. However, there appears to be inconstancy. I read most days about people being jailed for similar acts on non-cyclists.
I have also seen accounts of many cases on this website where cyclists have been injured or killed and the approach by the defence team seems to be “He’s bang to rights, but if we can find plenty of mitigating factors (no matter how idiotic), they may amount to something.”
It seems to me that in cases where motorists injure or kill cyclists, factors such as “…tired after 12 hour shift….”, “….children in the car….”, “….full of remorse…” are becoming acceptable mitigating factors. However they aren’t if a motorist injures or kills another motorist.
Mr Blackbird wrote:
It’s enlightening to compare this deliberately violent incident with what happened to Charlie Alliston. Although Alliston deserved some kind of punishment, I don’t think that a prison sentence was appropriate as there wasn’t really a “protect the public” requirement as Alliston’s offence was not at all premeditated, though his follow up social media posts certainly didn’t help his case.
This instance is where a prison term is called for as he performed a U-turn to go and attack the cyclist. When you factor in his carrying a blade and his assault on the police, it seems that maybe there’s something else going on here.
Two unsavoury characters, but
Two unsavoury characters, but presumably both could be seen as having equivalent levels of “premeditation”? (Given that they felt the knife was explained – and as far as the article has it he didn’t attempt to use it here, otherwise I would imagine it would be a custodial sentence and years?)
Why? In the Alliston case the judge gave weight to his deliberately removing safety devices from his bike and how he had described his motivations and behaviour which they thought showed some kind of risk- seeking / arrogance. In both cases the courts appear to have felt there was some time where the protagonists could have reacted differently and avoided the outcome but chose not to. (Whether that was correct in Alliston’s case generated debate).
I think part of the difference (ignoring any possible salience of a killer cyclist vs. the humdrum “man punches other man”) may be that Alliston essentially did everything he could afterwards to make himself look callous and as if he’d learned nothing. This chap attacked officers (which I’m surprised didn’t count against him more) but eventually the lawyers seem to have convinced him to fess up and act repentant.
Finally – although it *could* have been far worse in this case, the actual harm caused was far less. (Even if none might have been *meant* in the first case and some definitely meant in this…)
Law, eh?
Summary: “Peter Grimes”
Summary: “Peter Grimes” effect – if you’re an “other” and someone seen as vulnerable is killed when you were involved, get the best possible lawyer and act real contrite…
In defence and mitigation,
In defence and mitigation, the court heard that the incidents were “completely out of character”
Definitely, completely, utterly out of character. Or he’s never been caught before. While we can’t sentence people for crimes we can’t prove they did, his list of offences on this one day:
“….two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, dangerous driving, driving without insurance, criminal damage, assault of a constable in execution of their duty, and carrying a bladed article in a public place.”
are surely sufficient for a custodial sentence. Indeed, I would have thought it the case that assaulting a police officer would automatically lead to prison. If nothing else, the police must be pretty gutted at this too.
Or perhaps good bin men are hard to find.
So, for future reference, if
So, for future reference, if I ever go on a killing spree my defence will be:
My actions were “completely out of character” and that I “wasn’t in the best headspace that day”
Jobs a gud’un
Smoggysteve wrote:
And you needed a haircut
Previously good character ?
Previously good character ? not good enough to insure his motorbike
Previously good character
Previously good character literally just means that they haven’t been arrested for a violent crime. Thats the same BS argument they use when someone is caught doing anything fantastically dangerous or stupid for the first time.
Anyone with an ounce of sense knows that people don’t random exhibit awful behaviour without previous unless they literally just snap in the heat of the moment due to something overwhelming them.
This was not a momentary snap. This was rage. This was a set of actions that took place over an extended period. This is someone that will have a pattern of bad behaviour whether its caught the attention of the police (or not as it seems).
Previous good character means
Previous good character means he wasn’t caught for anything. He was carrying a blade and ripped a coppers ear, doesn’t sound like someone not used to carrying out violent acts.
Ted Bundy was considered of
Ted Bundy was considered of good character until caught. Such a bullsh1t excuse
Does anyone know if he got
Does anyone know if he got his haircut before heading off to the pub?
The attacker sounds like a
The attacker sounds like a charmer. He loves his grandmother, awww.
It does sound like he got a comparatively soft sentence.
https://www.gazette-news.co
https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25631977.footage-released-colchester-man-hitting-naked-cyclist-off-bike/