East Belfast mother who glassed woman at social club spared jail

An East Belfast mother who glassed a woman to the head with a pint glass was spared immediate custody on Thursday.

Judge Peter Irvine KC told Paige Bradney he was taking the exceptional course of suspending a 12 month sentence for a period of three years so that her two young sons would not be left without a parent to look after them.

Bradney, 25, of Tower Street, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of maliciously wounding the female at a south Belfast club. Belfast Crown Court heard that around 11.30pm on May 6, 2023, Bradney was in the Taughmonagh Social Club for a party.

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Prosecution barrister Mark O’Hara said the victim “crossed paths” with the defendant who was known to her.

“The defendant made a comment that the complainant was listening in on her conversation. The complainant and her friends rejected this,” said Mr O’Hara.

“After the complainant walked away, the defendant struck her to the head with a pint glass. The complainant fell to her knees and the defendant delivered several punches to her face. The defendant had to be physically removed from attacking the complainant by other patrons.”

The court heard the victim was bleeding to the head and one of her friends “picked shards of glass from the wound”.

The victim was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment where a CT scan was carried out and she received seven staples to the wound.

Said Mr O’Hara: “She also had bruising and swelling to her left cheek, pain in her neck, shoulder and knees. The swelling in her knees became very sore and she was subsequently diagnosed with suffering from Cellulitis and was prescribed antibiotics and painkillers.

“This assault has left the complainant in fear and has experienced anxiety while going out into the public.”

When interviewed by police, Bradney said she had no memory of what happened but when she was shown CCTV footage of the assault she accepted it was her.

She also sent the victim a Facebook message the following morning after the assault and apologised to her. In a Victim Impact Statement, the complainant stated she has been left with a five centimetre scar on the top of her head.

She added that she no longer attends family gatherings, she has trouble sleeping, has nightmares and has “flashbacks” when she hears the defendant’s name.

“My safe space is my home....this has been a horrible ordeal,” she added.

Defence barrister John O’Connor said that in a pre-sentence report Bradney expressed her “remorse and shame for her behaviour” and there has been no contact between the parties since the Facebook message and there has been no further offending. He told the court that Bradney had no previous convictions and since the attack she has abstained from alcohol.

Mr O’Connor referred to a medical report which stated that the defendant’s two sons are both being assessed for autism and Bradney is a single mother and their “primary and sole carer”.

A further medical report said the defendant has traits of both autism and ADHD along with symptoms of moderate depression.

Passing sentence, Judge Irvine said: “This was undoubtedly a violent and vicious assault but it was not carried out with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm. This was an impulsive and disgraceful attack but clearly it was not premeditated.”

The court also imposed a three-year restraining order.

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