The young victim required the insertion of a metal plate following the incident
A Belfast man who punched an 18-year old in an “unprovoked” attack in the centre of the city was handed a suspended sentence today.
The young victim underwent surgery on his jaw which required the insertion of a metal plate following the incident, which occurred in the early hours of July 4 last year.
Jack Craig, 25, from Clara Avenue admitted a charge of causing grievous bodily harm and had a 27-month sentence imposed which was suspended for two years by Judge Gordon Kerr KC.
Belfast Crown Court heard that both the victim and Craig did not know each other and had been socialising separately before encountering each other outside the City Hall at around 3.25am.
A brief confrontation followed and, without warning, Craig punched the other man in the jaw.
The 18-year old took his phone out and began recording Craig so he could identify his attacker to police and at this point Craig asked the victim ‘do you want the other side of your jaw broken too?’
The victim was taken to the Ulster Hospital where he told medics he had been punched in the side of the face and was in severe pain.
After undergoing surgery, he attended two follow-up appointments and in a subsequent Victim Impact Statement, he spoke of his upset at the affect the injury has had on him playing sports.
Craig was arrested the following month and during an interview he told police he could not remember if he had been out socialising on the night in question.
When shown a recording, he accepted it was him in the video and said that if he had punched anyone, he was sorry.
Branding the attack as “unprovoked”, Judge Kerr said he accepted this was a “one-punch” incident and that the remorse Craig expressed to a Probation Officer “appears genuine.”
Also noted by Judge Kerr was Craig’s employment history, his stable circumstances, a lack of addiction issues and no history of violence in his background.
After imposing the jail term, which he suspended, Judge Kerr told Craig that any repeat of such violent behaviour would result in an immediate custodial sentence.
Before he left the dock, Craig was warned of the consequences of breaching the suspended sentence and when asked if he understood this, Craig replied that he did.
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