A care worker glassed a woman in a city centre bar and hit her friend after clashing with them over a karaoke suggestion
Sophie Robinson was out in Newcastle with friends when she lost her temper with Katie Rickerby and Abbey Quinn outside a Bigg Market pub then attacked them once back inside. Newcastle Crown Court heard was on August 18 last year that the two victims, who are friends, had been at Cosy Joes, as had Robinson and her friends.
Robinson was outside in the smoking area with her group, one of whom had become upset. Damien Broadbent, prosecuting, said: "Miss Rickerby had tried to make conversation with the group and said they should go inside and do some karaoke. The defendant told her to shut up and stay out of the conversation.
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"Miss Rickerby went inside with Miss Quinn and they were talking to people when the defendant came over and began arguing with Miss Rickerby. CCTV shows the defendant striking Miss Rickerby to the face. Miss Quinn threw a drink at the defendant and the defendant hit Miss Quinn in the face with a glass. That glass shattered on impact."
The court heard Miss Quinn was the more seriously hurt of the pair, suffering cuts above her eyelid, on her cheek and chin and pain around her eye. She said in a victim impact statement: "I wish to say I'm now scared to go out and scared to go near strangers because a stranger did this to me. I didn't do anything to deserve this.
"I can't stand to see my face at this time. I can't be round mirrors and I've had to cover my mirror in my room and I'm scared I will be scarred."
Miss Rickerby suffered a small cut to her lip and scratches to her face. She said: "This assault made me feel anxious to go back out as I'm scared this will happen again. The girl that did this didn't look like someone capable of doing something like this."
Robinson, 25, of Houston Street, Rye Hill, Newcastle, was arrested at the scene and was apologetic and made full admissions in police interview. Jennifer Coxon, defending, said: "She has never behaved in this way before. She had consumed alcohol that night and as a result of an incident in relation to her sister she felt aggrieved.
"Were it not for the alcohol in her system giving her confidence to approach these girls she would not have done that. She was remorseful and apologetic in her interview."
Miss Coxon added: "She works as a support worker, including overnight, for vulnerable adults. It's a job she loves and she's concerned about the prospects of keeping it. She's had a meeting with the HR department and her manager confirms if she gets a suspended sentence she would lose her employment. The view is a lesser sentence would bear better for them potentially."
Quinn pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.. Judge Stephen Earl said the case was too serious for anything less than a suspended sentence and imposed six months suspended for 12 months with 100 hours of unpaid work an £500 compensation to Miss Rickerby and £200 to Miss Quinn.
The judge told Robinson: "What you did was very serious. It presents somewhat of a dichotomy because on the one hand you are the person your family and people you work with write about in the references.
"But good people do very foolish or bad things. In a chance moment, I have seen people lose eyes, I have seen people die, I have seen people have horrific injuries in a moment, all alcohol or drug-fuelled.
"I have to pass a message to people to say this sort of behaviour can't be acceptable."
Judge Earl added that Robinson was of "exemplary" previous character, is "truly remorseful" and said it would be a shame if she had to lose her job as a result of the sentence as it could affect others.
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