Father hit girl, 15, with baseball bat after she ‘taunted gay son’

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A father hit a teenage girl with a baseball bat after believing she had taunted his gay son, a court heard.

Dean Canham, 44, knocked the girl unconscious after a “red mist” descended on him in Felixstowe, Suffolk, in June last year.

This week, a judge jailed him for three years.

The East Anglian Daily Times reports that he attacked her after his 18-year-old son Michael called him asking for help during an argument with a group of youths on the seafront.

Canhan, of Felixstowe, drove to the scene with his wife, grabbed a baseball bat from his car and ran towards the group.

The jury was told that the 15-year-old holidaymaker, who was with her eight-year-old sister, was struck on the head by Canham as she tried to run away.

She was knocked out by the blow, which caused a gash on the back of her head.

Canham admitted wounding the girl with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm and battery in relation to her little sister.

Judge David Goodin described him as a “committed family man” who was concerned when he believed his son was being abused.

But he said Canham’s violent reaction had been “disproportionate” and jailed him for three years.

In his defence, Canham’s solicitor Andrew Thompson said a “red mist” has descended on him and he was ashamed that he had hurt a 15-year-old girl.

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