A man who grabbed a child in a Belfast city centre shop has been jailed for four months.
Aubrey Dube, 30, lifted the six-year-old girl up while she accompanied her parents to the jewellery store last December.
The defendant, originally from Zimbabwe but with an address at Dunluce Avenue in Belfast, was acquitted of child abduction. But he was convicted of a lesser offence of common assault. Dube also pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour during the drunken incident in the Royal Avenue area.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard previously that he held the girl up in the air with his arms around her chest. She was screaming “daddy” while kicking and pushing her arms.
The child’s father said he had to forcefully remove her from Dube’s grasp, with the family left upset and traumatised by what happened. Police called to the scene claimed Dube was screaming outside the shop in front of Christmas shoppers, shouting “I am God.”
At trial defence counsel Sean O’Hare insisted his client never had any intention to abduct the child. Instead, the barrister argued, Dube merely lifted her up while in a drunken state. During sentencing today, Mr O’Hare again stressed the defendant’s problems with alcohol.
“He’s unable to control himself in public situations, but there’s been no further offending since this incident,” he added.
Imposing four months imprisonment, District Judge Fiona Bagnall said: “The impact of his behaviour would have been significant, not only for the child but also her parents.”
