Rotherham rioter 'with mental age of a child' given substantially reduced prison term
Rory Huggins was jailed for 12 months at Sheffield Crown Court
A man who threw a bottle at police during rioting outside a Rotherham hotel last summer has been given a "substantially reduced" prison sentence by a judge who heard he has the mental age of a 10-year-old.
Rory Huggins was jailed for 12 months at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday by Judge Sarah Wright, who said this means he will soon be released from custody due to time already served.
Footage was shown in court of the 20-year-old's role in the violence outside the Holiday Inn Express at Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4.
Judge Wright recounted that a mob of around 400 people had besieged the hotel, which was housing more than 200 asylum seekers at the time.
Police came under a barrage of missiles and abuse for hours and, at one point, the rioters broke into the building and tried to set it alight.
More than 60 officers were injured in the violence.
Judge Wright was shown footage from officers' body-worn cameras and also a police helicopter which showed Huggins in the mob and throwing a full plastic water bottle at the line of riot shields.
The judge said she accepted that the defendant has mental health problems and is also on the autistic spectrum.
She said Huggins cannot live independently and is "easily led".
She told him: "The sentence is substantially reduced to reflect your particular circumstance.
"I do not sentence you as a 10-year-old but I do take in account your reduced level of functioning."
Huggins, of Swinton, Rotherham, admitted violent disorder at a previous hearing.
More than 70 men have now been jailed for their roles in the Rotherham violence, with most of those convicted of violent disorder receiving between two and three years in prison.