Man jailed for attacking two Polish men in Bognor Regis

Wiltold Olczyk, 44, of Stanmore Gardens, was sentenced on January 15 after a five day trial at The Old Bailey Central Criminal Court.

The conviction - which includes his ultimate deportation - is a result of Operation Accent, the initiative aimed at cutting crime and reducing vulnerability among the Eastern European community.

The assaults took place at a multi-occupancy house in Nyewood Lane on February 27 of last year.

The victims a 48-year-old Polish male and his 20-year-old son were living at the address controlled by Olczyk.

The court heard Olczyk was summonsed to the house after a scuffle between residents broke out.

When he arrived, he took the two victims to a living room and assaulted them, punching them both and stamping on the leg of the older man.

Passing sentence Judge Wide QC said: “In February of last year you were acting as a sort of enforcer by arranging homes and organising how houses were run in Bognor Regis, with people from your native Poland.

“You brought two persons to the UK and you were deeply involved in the management of these people’s lives and these offences have been committed against this background.

“It is obvious why you were called to that house. You were an enormous man, trained in martial arts. We have heard that you were feared. Being feared was what you were about.

“When there was trouble at this house in Nyewood Lane, you went to teach them how the house should be operated and meted this out with violence.

“You took the younger male back to the house for the very purpose of attacking him. You got them both in the living room where no-one else was and subjected them to a sustained, violent and pre-meditated attack with repeated use of fists and feet.”

Olczyk was sentenced to concurrent sentences of two years imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and three-and-a-half years for grievous bodily harm.

Speaking after the trial, Detective Inspector Tanya Jones, who heads the Operation Accent team, said: “It took these vulnerable victims four months to summon up the courage to come to the police.

“This shows the degree of control that Olczyk had over Polish residents in Bognor Regis - a community who will feel safer now this man is in prison and will then be deported.

“If anyone from this community has been a victim of this type of or similar offences but has concerns about coming forward and speaking to the police then we would like to reassure them that they will be treated with the utmost sensitivity and professionalism.

“This case shows that Sussex Police can and will deal effectively with this type of criminal activity that has occurred within the Polish community.”

Operation Accent has a team of officers dedicated to liaising with the Eastern European Community.

They can be contacted via email on [email protected]; Facebook on Operacja Akcent or by following the community Sergeant Rachel Glenton via twitter @sergeantglenton.