Man threw 'Molotov cocktail' through sex offender's window and set fire to flat
A man felt so strongly he didn't want a sex offender to live near him he hurled a potentially lethal "Molotov cocktail" through the window of the man's home.
Simon Boothby's fuel-filled bottle burst into flames in the early hours of the morning and it was only good fortune that the sex fiend's girlfriend was woken by the fire alarm. A court heard the couple and their dogs scrambled free, somehow avoiding serious injuries.
But Boothby, 30, was later arrested and admitted arson with intent to endanger life. The arsonist, who was already in custody on remand, was jailed for six years at Hull Crown Court and will be on extended licence of three years after his release from prison.
Recorder Taryn Turner heard details of Boothby's 32 previous offences, including burglary, assault and criminal damage. She said: "You previously heard comments or talk about the complainant and you took exception to him living in the locale," said Recorder Turner.
"This was a determined attempt and a serious attack and you no doubt picked your time so that you would not be detected and they were not likely to be disturbed or awoken by what was going on.
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"It was sheer good fortune that the complainant was able to control and douse the fire by water. He spotted a glass bottle that was on the floor, that had not been there previously, and that the window was broken.
"That was clearly as a consequence of your lobbing the glass bottle, which was set alight, through the kitchen window. There was extensive damage to that property.
"Very happily, the couple had woken up and extinguished the fire. That's sheer good fortune. Matters could so easily have gone a very different way. It didn't take the police very long to track you down at your home address. He and his partner have since had to move away."
The victim had heard Boothby previously tell a neighbour that the man "needs to get out of here," the court was told. The attack, which happened on September 5, saw flames of up to two or three feet high roar through the upstairs flat in Bransholme, Hull.
Stephen Robinson, prosecuting, there was an "extremely strong smell from an ignitable liquid" after the blaze, reports Hull Live. Mr Robinson said: "The glass bottle had been set alight and thrown through the window. The fire brigade were called and attended shortly after. There was an extremely strong smell from an ignitable liquid."
CCTV showed that the incident happened at 3.12am. Boothby was later detained but he told police: "I haven't been here. I have an alibi." His home was searched and a torn rag was found in the bathroom that matched one found outside that had fallen down from the broken window.
A screw top from a bottle was found on a sink and it was from the broken one used as a "Molotov cocktail" to attack the flat. There was a fuel canister in his hallway cupboard.
During police interview, Boothby denied any knowledge of an arson and he denied that he had called the man a paedophile. Mr Robinson said that the man was a convicted sex offender and he had since moved to another address.
The man said in a statement that he felt frightened all the time, not just for himself but for his girlfriend. He was on edge and could not sleep. He had been frightened to leave his home in case he got targeted.
Helen Chapman, mitigating, said that Boothby remained angry that the man had been placed in a flat near him and near women and children. "He struggles to contain his emotions on that topic," said Miss Chapman.
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The man involved was a convicted sex offender. "That doesn't excuse this defendant's conduct at all," said Miss Chapman. "He became upset and angry during a probation service interview.
"He does regret his actions and he does appreciate that he could have found himself in far more serious trouble with the police but, also, he could have had two deaths on his hands."
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