A painter-decorator who launched a violent homophobic attack on a gay man has been jailed after the victim’s boyfriend fought to get the case through court. James Billings, 41, got 18-weeks at Highbury Corner Magistrates on Wednesday (July 30), eight months after throwing a plank of plywood at Piotr Kwiecien outside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium late at night on November 29, 2024.
Speaking after Billings went down to the cells, Piotr’s relieved partner Rob said: “I feel like justice has been served.” Rob, who did not want to give his surname, first contacted MyLondon in March as police had still failed to identify a suspect. Officers had Piotr’s mobile phone footage of the attacker, a CCTV clip of their confrontation, and a 999 call made during the attack.
When Rob took matters into his own hands by posting a photo of the suspect on Nextdoor, Billings’ housing block was identified and Rob passed this information to police. But the lead officer said there we too many flats, and claimed ‘I am not able to definitively identify where the potential suspect lives’. MyLondon quickly identified the suspect’s exact address by speaking to neighbours.
The Met has since told MyLondon the investigating officer ran an intelligence report on the building, which came back negative, then contacted a member of staff at the housing association, who correctly identified Billings. “These enquiries were a better use of officers time, as opposed to individually knocking on doors based off of one description,” said a Met spokesperson.
Billings was arrested and charged on March 26, five days after we published our own investigation into a series of attacks around the Drayton Park area, that appeared to be linked by the same suspect. The charges came in relation to two out of our three interviewees, and an additional man who also alleged homophobic verbal abuse from Billings.
But when the case came to court, both Rob and Piotr were astounded by a series of blunders, in terms of legal process and evidence handling. At the first and third trial, it emerged the charge had been authorised, despite two of the complainants having already seen a photo of the suspect on Nextdoor before attending the identity parade.
This breached procedures outlined in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, compromising the prosecution’s case. “I am at the limit of what I am prepared to prosecute without professional embarrassment,” quipped prosecutor Adrian Yalland as it unravelled at the first trial. Both cases were therefore dropped on the day of trial, with anxious witnesses waiting in the court.
While Piotr’s case did go ahead, the couple were horrified to see crucial CCTV footage was filmed on a police body-worn video camera, rather being downloaded in the best quality. Prosecutor Kevin Kendridge said this was ‘unhelpful’. The Met says CCTV could not be downloaded due to an ‘external software issue’, and when officers returned it had been deleted.
Rob was also surprised that Piotr’s 999 call, made at the same time as the assault, was not included as evidence. The Met says the CPS knew about the 999 call, but officers were told it was not required as evidence for the trial.
A photo of Piotr’s head, taken by officers on the night of the attack, also went missing during the trial. The Met are responsible for collating evidence, but a spokesperson told MyLondon it was ‘inaccurate’ to say the photo had gone missing as ‘there is a record of the image being submitted to the case file on March 25’. The CPS say their file did not have a photo of the victim.
Whoever’s fault it was, this meant, at the very last moment, Rob had to provide the prosecution with his own photo of Piotr’s head injury taken a few days after the attack. For a conviction of ABH, the prosecution must prove there was an injury, like a bruise or scratch, but Rob’s photo was taken days after the attack, meaning any swelling and redness had nearly gone. On the threshold for ABH, case law R v Donovan (1934) states: “Harm need not be permanent but must be more than transient and trifling.”
The CPS say an alternative lesser charge of assault by beating was provided to ensure a conviction after assessing the available evidence. When we suggested the absence of the police photo meant Billings was not convicted of ABH, a more serious offence with a maximum sentence of five years, a CPS spokesperson said they would not comment on ‘hypotheticals’.
The most astonishing moment, however, came at an early hearing, when a prosecutor made multiple attempts to get through to one of London’s senior crown prosecutors (to ask about the identity parade issue) only to find the number at the bottom of their email kept putting them through to a random, and very confused, member of the public.
We repeatedly asked the CPS to comment on this, but they did not provide an explanation and denied it was a security issue.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: “James Billings’ behaviour was unacceptable and we were pleased to see him convicted of two offences. After reviewing all the available evidence, an additional alternative charge of assault by beating was laid prior to the trial taking place, in consultation with the victim, to ensure Billings faced justice. We had no choice but to discontinue two other cases, after it emerged that the procedure used to identify Billings as the suspect was compromised.”
‘They are a bit obsessed with me’
During the trial, magistrates heard how masked Billings walked up to Piotr while he was walking his dog and called him ‘f**king queer’. In self-defence Piotr kicked out at Billings, then started filming him while shouting ‘show your f**king face, you c**t’.
Piotr then called 999 and kept in eyesight of Billings as he walked off. As Piotr spoke to police, Billings ran ‘out of the darkness’ and threw a plank of wood at the back of his head, causing him to briefly fall down and pass out unconscious.
In his defence, Billings tried to paint himself as the victim of a random attack by an ‘aggressive’ dog walker, accusing Piotr of kicking him and chasing him down the street while goading him with abuse. Asked if he had used homophobic slurs, Billings explained he was ‘just venting everyday life stress’ and may have been ‘mumbling’ to himself.
The trial then took a bizarre twist as the court was played footage of Billings’ arrest, where he told PC Ben Goodman he had been forced to change his gym multiple times because he was being ‘stalked and groomed’ by ‘obsessed’ gay men.
“I have actually been stalked by homosexuals and they are trying to groom me,” said Billings, “I’m not a homosexual. They have got some crazy obsession with me. They are trying to stalk me and it’s a bit weird and worrying. As well, they are a bit obsessed with me.”
In the witness box, Billings insisted he did not know Piotr was gay, claiming he only realised later after remembering he had seen him dog walking with his boyfriend. “It was a complete coincidence,” Billings told the court, “It’s not important to me. I have no issue and everyone is entitled to be who they want to be.”
But Billings’ gay stalking story cast enough doubt in the minds of magistrates, who could not believe the verbal homophobic abuse and subsequent attack were a total coincidence. The magistrates said it was clear Billings knew Piotr’s sexual orientation before the attack, and that his claims of self-defence did not apply because Piotr was walking away.
‘Anyone you perceive as homosexual is at risk’
While the Probation Service officer told the court Billings maintains he was acting in self-defence and had expressed no remorse during their conversation, they also painted the picture of a troubled man from a deprived background. Both his parents are dead after a childhood in which he witnesses serious drug addiction and domestic violence, and he rarely speaks to his sister.
After leaving school without any GCSEs, he qualified as a painter and decorator but had to quit his job due to mental health issues. His last relationship was more than 12 years ago, and he prefers to isolate himself, said the probation officer. Billings has used drugs in the past, and admitted abusing alcohol and cocaine in recent months as a form of self-harm.
Billings’s defence counsel Anisa Kebbati also revealed he suffers from anxiety and depression, and may have an undiagnosed psychotic illness. In 2017 and 2018, separate psychiatrists identified paranoid ideations and psychosis, but Billings was never given a formal diagnosis and treatment. More recently a doctor concluded Billings has ‘clear symptoms of paranoid psychotic delusions’.
Despite Probation’s suggestion of a suspended sentence or community order to address his thinking skills, the judge came down hard due to Billings’ previous conviction for battery and the homophobic nature of the offences. Billings was given 18 weeks immediate custody for the assault by beating, and the same concurrent sentence for using threatening words and behaviour.
“You seem to insist you have some belief you are a target for homosexual men,” said the judge, “I do not quite understand that as you assumed the complainant in this matter was homosexual.”
When Billings interrupted: “I did not”, the judge replied: “You have been found guilty.”
“That’s concerning to me, because anyone you perceive as homosexual is going to be at risk,” she continued.
“I also note the psychiatrist has not diagnosed you, but for whatever reason says it is likely you were aware of what you were doing. You had knowledge of it. You made the decision to act on this. Acting in the way you did I do perceive this a hate crime. You targeted someone for their sexuality. You then assaulted someone with a weapon, picking up and throwing it at his head.”
The judge said she could see no reason to suspend the sentence without a realistic prospect of rehabilitation or strong personal mitigation: “You clearly have an issue with people you believe to be homosexual and act on it… There may have been some issues that have not been diagnosed but that’s no excuse.”
Billing must also comply with a two-year restraining order that bans him from contacting the victim, and pay £154 to the court. MyLondon understands Billings’ housing association are seeking to evict him from his home.
As Billings was led into the cells, he asked the judge: “Am I able to appeal against this?”
“Yes, you can,” the judge confirmed.
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