A teenage mum subjected her former friend to a savage attack which led to the victim dropping out of school.
The shocking assault, which was filmed on a mobile phone and saw the girl repeatedly kicked in the head as she lay injured on the floor, was one of three dished out by Clio Groom in the space of three days in March and April last year. Another saw her drag a 16-year-old, who was previously her "best friend", around by her hair - leaving her "bruised and battered".
Liverpool Crown Court heard the latter incident occurred on March 30 last year on New Brighton Promenade after the pair had fallen out in a dispute on social media. The teen was unwittingly grabbed by her hair and "pulled backwards and forwards", as well as having her head forced down towards her knees.
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Arguing continued after the attack stopped with a drunken Groom, from Rock Ferry, telling the complainant "shut up you p**i" during the row. She also had an earring ripped out of her left ear during the incident.
Then, on April 2 2021, the call centre worker attacked another pal who had been in a three-week relationship with her ex-boyfriend and the father of her 18-month-old child. "A lot of bad feelings" remained between the couple following their breakup, with both subsequently posting about each other on social media.
She was informed Groom wanted to fight her and began to receive a string of anonymous phone calls. Upon answering one, the defendant was found to be on the other end and threatened to "stab and batter her."
At around 4pm on the day in question, the victim was told to go to the Dips on New Brighton seafront to "to have a fight" and reluctantly did so. Groom - of Rock Lane West - walked towards her holding a bottle of vodka, which she threatened to hit her with before throwing it to the ground.
The 19-year-old began shouting how she wanted a "one on one fight" and pulled her opponent to the floor and began punching her in the head. Several kicks were then launched towards her face.
In the clip, Groom is egged on by onlookers who shout "get her down" and "wig her now". It also shows the youngster being dragged around by her hair.
Groom, who was "very drunk, slurring her words and swaying around", followed the teen as she walked off in the direction of New Brighton Station and punched her in the head from behind. She was later taken to Arrow Park Hospital for treatment having suffered a concussion, cuts and bruises.
In a statement which was read out to the court, she said: "I feel this has changed who I am. I had to drop out of school because I couldn't cope with everyone talking about it and looking at me."
Groom, who has no previous convictions, then attacked one of the schoolgirl's male friends as he returned to retrieve items which she had dropped during the altercation. He was slapped to both sides of the head with closed fists and told "don't f***ing say stuff about me again".
When arrested, the offender told police: "That's fine, it's got nothing to do with me."
Bernice Campbell, defending, told the court: "For the first time in her life, she has some stability. There has been a huge improvement in her life. To have a baby at just over 18 would have been quite unsettling and upsetting. It was a massive change in her life.
"She became a victim of comments on social media. She became somewhat a point of insult on social media."
Groom admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was found guilty of racially-aggravated assault and assault. She was handed a 34-week imprisonment suspended for a year and a restraining order preventing her from contacting the female victims for two years.
Recorder Philip Barnes said: "The overwhelming inference is that at this period of time she was drinking too much and letting her frustrations boil over into violence. She has never been in trouble before or since and appears to have made a start in getting on top of these problems which were overwhelming her.
"They are serious offences, but I have to ask myself very seriously if as a minimum she has to go to custody. She's not at the point yet."
Sentencing, the judge added: "After a dispute with a former friend of yours you confronted her, grabbed her, punched her and pushed. You insulted her in the most disgusting way.
"She was bruised and battered by you. A few days later in an entirely separate dispute, another former friend was confronted by you. You again were in drink. She was punched and kicked in the head three or four times.
"When a member of the group returned to pick up property that had been dropped, he too was assaulted by you. These offences together cross the custody threshold, but I have to consider whether this sentence could be suspended and whether there is a proper prospect of rehabilitation.
"You are 19 and you have never been in trouble with the court before, so it's a stark contrast between the life you have lived compared to these few days. You have returned to being offence-free.
"This was a short period where you exploded in frustration and anger at things that were going on and happening to you. None of that excuses the way you behaved, but it allows the court to ask whether it is going to be repeated."
Groom was also told to serve a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days and a six-month alcohol treatment programme.
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