An Ipswich man who has been given a jail sentence for assaulting a police officer will be released from prison immediately because of the time he has spent in custody.

Lenny Duberry, 41, of Heather Avenue, Ipswich, had denied assaulting an emergency worker but was unanimously convicted by a jury after a trial at Ipswich Crown Court in August.

Duberry was accused of striking the officer on March 2, 2022 after officers came to investigate an unrelated matter at a nearby property.

Not having found their suspect, the officer who was assaulted had turned off his body worn camera, before noticing the door of a nearby motorhome banging in the wind. 

When he went to investigate, Duberry had burst out of the motorhome and when the officer put a hand on his shoulder, Duberry had hit him in the eye with the back of his hand.

Duberry claimed he asked officers multiple times what they wanted, and he did not intend to strike the officer.

In addition to the assault matter Duberry, who attended the hearing via a prison video link, was sentenced for making off from a petrol station without paying £40 for fuel and failing to comply with notification requirements which he admitted.

The court heard that in 2014 Duberry was jailed for four years for two offences of rape which he had admitted and resulted in him being ordered to notify police of any change in his address.

Jailing Duberry for a total of 20 weeks, Judge Richard Kelly said a psychiatrist who had assessed him found that he didn’t have a treatable mental health illness but had a paranoid personality disorder and some symptoms of psychosis.

He said that during his trial Duberry had accused the police officer he was accused of assaulting of having a “racist grudge” against him.

He said Duberry had been in custody since February and would therefore be eligible for immediate release from prison.