Man admits threatening Finsbury Park Mosque

SOMEONE MADE a series of threatening phone calls to Finsbury Park Mosque on 21st January. Less than two months later, the police had found the culprit – and he was in court, being sentenced.

The calls contained violent threats and were motivated by religious reasons. The main investigation was carried out by the Met hate crime investigators. They quickly found that the calls were coming from Hornsey and were quick to find Lee Harper, 47. They went to his house on 24th January, arrested him, and charged him with two counts of sending offensive and indecent messages and one count of sending threatening death or serious harm communications.

Lee Harper, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on 10th March, where he admitted the offences. He was sentenced to ten weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work. He was also given a five year restraining order, barring him from visiting or contacting Finsbury Park Mosque.

Detective Superintendent Marco Bardetti led the investigation. After Harper was sentenced, he said, “This investigation demonstrates our continued determination to protect communities across London from religiously motivated hate crime.”

DS Bardetti thanked members of Finsbury Park Mosque for trusting the Met and the CPS to handle this hate crime. He encouraged members of the public and faith communities to report hate crime to the police.

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