A MAN has been spared jail despite leaving his victim permanently disfigured after biting off part of his ear in an unprovoked attack.
Martin Gallagher, 28, was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence after admitting to the brutal assault in the toilets of Digital nightclub in Newcastle, England.
His victim meanwhile said he is still coming to terms with his new reflection.
Genitals
In May last year Gallagher accused the victim of looking at his genitals as he was urinating before following him back into the club and attacking him.
The victim desperately tried to explain to him that he hadn't been looking at Gallagher and fought back, but Gallagher sunk his teeth into his victim’s ear, ripping part of it clean off.
Gallagher, of Glencoe Rise, Rowland Gill, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this year.
On Thursday, September 6, he received a two-year suspended prison sentence at Newcastle Crown Court as well as a three-month curfew.
He has also been ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay a £140 victim surcharge and £5,000 in compensation to the victim.
'Out of control'
Detective Constable Lisa Common, of Northumbria Police’s Central CID, said the victim in the case was left permanently disfigured by the attack.
“This was an unprovoked attack on a complete stranger who had gone out that night to socialise with friends,” she said.
“Instead, he was confronted by a drunken male who was so out of control he bit the victim’s ear off.
“The victim has been left suffering not just permanent physical injury, but emotional trauma as a result of the incident.
“I hope he can take some comfort in the sentence that has been given today.”
The victim said the last 18 months have been “some of the most testing and strenuous times in my life”.
“At times I have been left demobilised by the sheer stress of it all,” he said.
“I never could comprehend how one vicious incident could lead to so much pain for so many people until now.
“I’m still coming to terms with my new reflection and hope for a future to bring better days.
“That is largely thanks to the tireless work of Northumbria Police, especially from DC Lisa Common who has been nothing but an exemplary figure throughout the proceedings.”
