Bolton McDonald’s attacker banned from town centre

Kody Bates, 28, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court in August last year after an unprovoked attack on a staff member at the Knowsley Street branch of McDonald’s.

Greater Manchester Police have also now applied for and been granted a criminal behaviour order that will ban him from the town centre for two years.

A spokesperson said: “Officers secured numerous convictions for serious assaults of female retail workers and sexual assault/harassment of female members of the public within Bolton town centre.

“As part of the order, Bates must not enter the town centre and is not to approach lone women in any public place, including retail self-service premises unless they are personally known to him or unavoidable as part of lawful daily life.”

Kody Bates has been banned from the town centre (Image: GMP)

Bates was brought before the court last August for an unprovoked attack he had launched nearly two years earlier on October 8, 2023, punching the young woman three times.

Addressing the August hearing John Richards, prosecuting, said that the young woman was left fearful that she would lose her sight and that she had had recurring nightmares.

He told the court that Bates, of Vermont Street, Halliwell, had 14 previous convictions for 28 offences.

Ben Berkson, defending, said at the time that Bates had struggled with his mental health and with his time in prison.

Describing the assault as a “wicked and unprovoked attack on an innocent young lady” Recorder Michael Blakely jailed Bates for 22 months.

With the custodial part of his sentence having since ended, Greater Manchester Police says its Bolton North Neighbourhood Team applied for the order banning him from the town centre.

The force says that this is part of its ongoing efforts to tackle violence against women and girls.

As well as forbidding him from approaching lone women and girls, the order also means Bates can only go into the town centre for specific reasons.

These are if he is going there for a pre-arranged appointment with a medical facility, a job interview or legal or housing services.

Bates’s criminal behaviour order is set to run to April 29, 2028.