AG -v- Campell [2014] JRC 058 (04 March 2014)

JUDGMENT THE commissioner: 1. The defendant stands to be sentenced for one count of grave and criminal assault committed on his neighbour. She occupied the flat immediately above his in a building in which there was very poor soundproofing. On the evening in question he and his partner had been playing music loudly when the victim banged on the ceiling by way of complaint. The defendant says there had been ongoing issues over noise between him and the victim although they had never met. He and his partner initially responded by turning up the volume of the music. The defendant then decided to confront the victim, who was aged 54 and who, it transpired, lived in her flat alone. She slammed the door in his face. His partner then went up in order to speak to the victim and he heard his partner screaming. He ran upstairs to find his partner on the floor with the victim pulling her hair. He tried to separate them and in the melee the victim bit him on the hand. He punched the victim on the ribs and she released his hand, retreating back into her flat and shutting the door. Incensed at being bitten he barged open the victim's door, breaking the lock, and punching the victim in the face more than once, causing the most serious injuries to her face. Those injuries included bruising and swelling to the left cheek bone, bruising to both eye sockets and a cut inner lip. The defendant returned to his flat and called the police to report an assault on both him and his partner. The victim also called the police. The force medical examiner found both the defendant and his partner were intoxicated; the victim was not.

2. The defendant does not have a good record. It includes previous assaults on women in what were clearly domestic situations. He is assessed by the probation department at a moderate risk of reoffending. Mr Gafoor describes him as having a past history of illicit drug abuse interspersed with excessive drinking. He is assessed by Mr Gafoor as physically dependent on alcohol when abstinent from opiates. Given his lack of insight and motivation to address his alcohol problems Mr Gafoor does not recommend him for a treatment order, although we are told by the defendant today that he is prepared to undertake antabuse again. The probation report reports the defendant as being reluctant to commit to a probation order, but he is willing to undertake community service and that is something which Mr Landick has urged upon us on his behalf. We are told today that he is willing to undertake probation although he is unsure what he will derive from it.

3. Applying the criteria in Harrison-v-AG JLR 111 the Crown seek a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment taking into account the mitigation. Turning to that mitigation, the defendant has pleaded guilty and has provided us with references and a letter of remorse. We have taken all of this into account and indeed everything that Mr Landick has said to us on the defendant's behalf, but we have concluded that this offence is too serious to warrant a community based sentence, in that at the end of the day the defendant broke open the door of this 54 year old victim's flat and punched her in the face. However in the context of the Harrison criteria we do not think the Crown has given sufficient weight to the issue of provocation. The defendant went upstairs to find his partner being assaulted and in trying to extricate her he was bitten on the hand causing the injuries which we have seen on the photographs and as reported by the doctor. In our view this feature warrants a reduction in the sentence to be imposed upon the defendant.

4. You are sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. Authorities Harrison-v-AG JLR 111. Page Last Updated: 23 Sep 2016 BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII