A man who knocked his ex girlfriend’s mum’s tooth out in a drunken attack did so with his baby present, a court heard.
Callum Johnson, 25, of St Lawrence Grove, Kirkby appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Monday. He was found guilty after a trial of assaulting Michelle Gibney, thereby occasioning her actual bodily harm and of assaulting Ellie Gibney.
The dad-of-two pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property valued under £5,000 on the day of trial, and was also found to be in possession of cocaine during the offence. Edward Rattigan, prosecuting, explained that shortly before midnight on February 6 last year, Ms Gibney was returning home in Kirkby with friends in a taxi.
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When she arrived home, Johnson was waiting and clearly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One of Ms Gibney’s friends got out of the vehicle and asked Johnson not to cause any trouble, but he reacted angrily and an altercation ensued.
Miss Gibney intervened, and her mum, Michelle Gibney, who was indoors babysitting the one year old child shared by her daughter and Johnson, came outside. Johnson began verbally abusing the women, calling Mrs Gibney a “smackhead”, before headbutting her to the face causing one of her teeth to come out.
Ms Gibney was also assaulted during the altercation, but the baby was removed from the situation. Neighbours came outside and Ms Gibney told the defendant she had called the police, so he fled the scene.
He returned once he realised police were not coming, but fled again when they were actually called. However, he returned for a third time around twenty minutes after police left the scene, before throwing a candle at the victim’s window, causing minor damage of around £100.
Ms Gibney and her mum called police again, and Johnson fled the scene. A victim personal statement written by Ms Gibney, and read by the prosecution, said: “Since the incident I feel like everything has changed in my life.
“I am scared of bumping into the defendant.” She added: “I do not like being around too many people, especially not people who have been drinking”.
Michelle Gibney, who also submitted a victim personal statement, said: “Callum was screaming at Ellie, right in front of her face. “The baby was crying and very upset.” Mrs Gibney also detailed extensive dental work she has to have, including the implant of a false tooth, which was corroborated by medical records.
Johnson has one previous conviction for a domestic incident with a different complainant. Rory McCormack, defending, said that when Ms Gibney arrived home she was accompanied by a male, her friend’s boyfriend, who allegedly “gave Johnson a good hiding”.
Mr McCormack said this left his client in a heightened emotional state, and Johnson was angry as he believed their shared child was not actually his, and had previously requested a DNA test.
He said: “On the face of it, it was a revenge attack. In certain respects, paranoia took over.”
Mr McCormack detailed that Johnson had suffered three bereavements at the time of the offence, including of his father, and a friend who was murdered. He added: “It was around this time that he felt he could not cope and resorted to alcohol and drugs”.
District Judge James Clarke sentenced Johnson to seven months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity days, and is subject to an 80 day alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement.
Johnson was also ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation to Michelle Gibney, a further £200 to Ellie Gibney, as well as £500 towards prosecution costs and the £138 statutory surcharge.
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