Published date: 24 January 2017 |
Published by: Staff reporterRead more articles by Staff reporterEmail reporter
A woman was left with facial scarring after being assaulted at a Mold pub by a trainee journalist.
Katie Mary Bevan, 26, formerly of Maes Gwyn in Flint but now of the University of Central Lancashire, had denied a charge of assaulting Sophie Beddows in the beer garden of the Red Lion pub in Wrexham Street, Mold, on July 16 last year.
A trial was due to be held but she changed her plea at Flintshire Magistrates Court at Mold yesterday.
Bevan, who is in her second year of a journalism degree course at Preston University, alleged that the incident was sparked off by a remark about her sexuality.
That was denied by the victim.
Magistrates adjourned sentence on an all options basis for a pre-sentence report and warned that it did cross the custody threshold.
CCTV footage of the incident was played to the court.
The prosecution alleged that the defendant pushed past the complainant and her party, knocking their beer.
The complainant said “what’s her problem?” and it was alleged the defendant returned and punched her to the face.
Miss Beddows fell to her knees where she was further punched with a clenched fist.
The victim believed the defendant had a piece of glass to her hand – and put her own hands up to protect her face.
It was the prosecution case that Bevan then reached around and bit her cheek.
The victim was left with a cut under her eye, bruising to the cheek and injuries to her mouth, and lumps to the right side of the head.
At the Countess of Chester Hospital she was found to have a puncture wound near her lip.
In her basis of plea, Bevan denied pushing past the group and defending solicitor Simon Simmons said that was not shown in the footage.
The defence alleged that a remark had been made questioning the defendant’s sexuality, the defendant reacted, returned and struck her but denied any bite.
However she accepted that she caused all the injuries.
Mr Simmons said there had been a melee, his client accepted striking her but denied biting and swabs later taken had proved negative.
His client could not be seen on the footage to inflict a bite and denied having any glass in her hand.
With hindsight she knew she should have walked away.
The defendant was a pleasant and intelligent young lady who had moved to Preston to study journalism.
She had gone away from the area, had a new partner, had not re-offended and had moved on and now had a better life.
In a victim impact statement, Miss Burrows said that after the incident she had trouble sleeping, and did not want to go out in Mold any more in case she bumped into the defendant.
She had been left with two visible scars to the face which made her feel embarrassed and self-conscious.
Magistrates heard that the defendant had previous convictions for 14 offences – but none for violence – and was at the time on a community order.
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/171635/journalism-student-left-woman-with-facial-scars-after-assaulting-her-at-mold-pub.aspx
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