Jail for thug who attacked six-year-old girl

A violent thug has been jailed for attacking a woman and a six-year-old girl in a busy Peterborough street.

Catalin Ganciu, 28, was in Lincoln Road, in Millfield, on 26 April when he ran towards the girl and kicked her in the head, knocking her to the ground.

Ganciu helped the child up and ran away.

A woman who was nearby spotted Ganciu waving his arms around, so offered to get him some water from a shop. But he followed the woman into the shop and punched her in the face before running away.

When police arrived to arrest Ganciu, he punched one officer in the stomach and caused damage to the inside of a police van by repeatedly kicking it.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday (16 July), Ganciu, of Gladstone Street, Peterborough, was jailed for one year and seven months after pleading guilty to two counts of actual bodily harm, one count of assault by beating of an emergency worker and one count of criminal damage.

DC Hannah Cooke, who investigated, said: “This was an horrific series of unprovoked attacks by Ganciu, and I have no doubt that his actions will have a lasting impact on the victims.

“He is clearly a very dangerous man who has no respect for other people, or the law.

“Ganciu caused minor injuries to all three of his victims, and the six-year-old girl had to be taken to hospital to be checked over.

“Violence like this is inexcusable, especially towards a young child, and I am pleased he is now behind bars.”