Bank Exec Guilty Of Brawling With Black Bouncer He Racially Abused At Speed-Dating Event

Guilty: Jonathan Le Roith

A drunk RBS executive, who turned violent and racially abused a black bouncer who ejected him from a bar's speed-dating event he gatecrashed, was convicted yesterday for what a judge called an: "appalling and regrettable incident."

Privately-educated Jonathan Le Roith, 31, was sacked from his role as Director of Capital Resolutions at Royal Bank of Scotland when charged earlier this year and his career in the financial sector is now over.

"You were a thoroughly respectable, bright, intelligent professional man with a good career in front of you," Blackfriars Crown Court Judge John Hillen QC told Le Roith, who attended £30,000 a year Reed's School, Cobham, Surrey followed by Bath University.

"Because you were drunk you have lost your good character and your profession. You either had more to drink than you said you had or the drink you had taken had a different effect on you.

"You were intoxicated and behaving out of character, both in the threats you were making and your disorderly behaviour and what it released from your mouth, which were very unimpressive words.

"You did utter those very unpleasant, racist words and you have to address the fact they were lurking in your mind and released by your use of alcohol."

The jury convicted Le Roith of assaulting bouncer Dean Platt, 35, manger Daniel Jennings and using racially-aggravated threatening behaviour outside the House of Wolf, Upper Street, Islington bar on November 27, last year.

He was found not guilty of the racially-aggravated assault of Mr. Platt.

Dean Platt

Le Roith, of nearby Richmond Grove was sentenced to a twelve-month community order, which includes 140 hours community service and was ordered to pay £3,500 costs, £500 compensation to Mr. Platt and £250 to Mr. Jennings.

His lawyer Mr. Daniel Pawson-Pounds said: "He lost his job with RBS earlier this year and will not be able to work in the financial sector again.

"Because of the press reports, and I'm not playing the violin here, there will be a social impact on him and he has been receiving messages from people he knows all day."

The trial heard Le Roith refused to budge despite being repeatedly asked to leave the private event, hosted by internet dating site 'Plenty of Fish', and grabbed the bar manager's shirt and doorframe to prevent his exit.

"He quite rudely shrugged me off twice, like I was nobody," explained six-foot three, sixteen stone Mr. Platt. "He told me he wasn't leaving and walked back to the bar.

"I took his left arm and was walking him out and it got into a bit of a frenzy."

Mr. Jennings tried to assist and told the court: "He was shouting and screaming and holding onto the doorframe.

"He grabbed hold of my throat, tried to grab my throat and was thrashing around. He ripped my shirt."

Outside Le Roith refused to leave. "He tried to knee me in the groin twice, but missed and kicked my inner thigh," said Mr. Platt, who is also a part-time actor.

"I looked at him and thought: 'Are you serious? Why would you want a fight with me?'

House of Wolf

"He told me he was coming in and took a swing at me and then swung a second time so I pinned his arms and he was shouting: 'You're hurting me.'

"Eventually we ended up on the floor. He was resisting and told me I should let him go because of what would happen to me.

"He called me a 'shit' and called me a 'black bastard' and told me I was worthless and that my people were nothing.

"He told me he could shoot me in my head and said he had a gun at his house and would shoot me.

"He told me I was lucky to be allowed in the country and I told him I was born in London and raised in London.

"He kept saying what would happen to me if I was in South Africa and that upset me."

Le Roith was restrained on the ground for up to thirty minutes until police arrived. "His whole line was: 'I'm a white man, I'm superior.'

"He was looking at me dead in the eye and you could see what he was like and he was saying: 'You won't get justice. I'll get let off'."

Mr. Platt denied referring to the defendant as "white boy" during the incident and ejecting him from the bar without warning.

Prosecutor Mr. Orlando Gibbons told the jury: "He wouldn't leave when asked to do so and wanted to stay because he had a drink."

There were additional offensive comments during the assault on Mr. Platt, said the prosecutor. "He said: 'You disgust me. I know why you are doing this, it's because we are suppressing you.

"'You are only in this country because we welcomed you. You're doing this because you're black and I'm white'."