A teenager sobbed as a judge bailed him to await sentence for shouting anti-Islamic abuse from on top of a phone box on Brighton seafront during Pride weekend.
Max Ritchings, 18, held a hand to his face and choked up as he was told that he would be freed from custody – but could be back behind bars next month.
Ritchings, a vape shop worker, pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court to the public order offence, committed in Madeira Drive on Sunday 4 August.
The teenager, who appeared in court in a blue t-shirt and grey shorts, also admitted posting an inflammatory comment on social media, encouraging arson attacks on Muslim religious buildings.
The offences were committed in the wake of the murder of three children who were stabbed to death in Southport and the riots that followed.
Judge Christine Laing, the honorary recorder of Brighton and Hove, told the teenager that he should not take his release on bail as any indication of the sentence that he faces.
Ritchings, of Buckeridge Way, Haywards Heath, was ordered to wear an electronic tag and obey a curfew from 8pm to 6am.
Judge Laing also ordered him to hand over his phone and other electronic devices to police and to tell them his passwords so that they could inspect them.
At court today (Wednesday 11 September) Nicholas Hamblin, defending, said that Ritchings had had a “short sharp shock” having been in custody since last month.
The teenager’s family were in court as Mr Hamblin said that the youngster had had time to reflect on his actions and had written a letter to the judge apologising for his behaviour.
Mr Hamblin also said that Ritchings had turned himself in to the police when he learnt that officers had been to his home to try to find him.
Judge Laing agreed to Mr Hamblin’s request for a pre-sentence report and freed the teenager on bail until Friday 18 October when he is due to be sentenced.
She said that the offences were so serious that the courts had required reports in very few of the public order cases since the Southport stabbings.
The judge told Ritchings: “You must realise by now how serious the offences are – and you must appreciate just how seriously the courts are taking these offences – and custody is the most likely option.
“You must understand that even if it is a good report – and even though I am giving you bail – it doesn’t mean that you aren’t going back to prison.”
