Club assault sufferer’s fury as man who bottled her avoids jail

A nightclub attack victim has been left ‘fuming’ after the man who threw a bottle in her face and whispered ‘you don’t reject me’ has avoided jail.

Amy Thompson, 25, had been in a nightclub in South Shields in the early hours when she was ‘accosted’ by Dean Sinclair who viciously assaulted her leaving her missing a tooth and needing stitches.

But, despite the young mother suffering horrific injuries, Sinclair will not spend any time behind bars, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Upon hearing the sentence Ms Thompson told Chronicle Live: ‘I’m fuming and I’m heartbroken. I’m absolutely in pieces. He’s stolen a piece of my life away from me, but I have got no justice.’

Amy Thompson was attacked on a night out in South Shields. Her attacker, Dean Sinclair, will not spend time behind bars

Ms Thompson was left with horrific injuries following the attack including a spilt on her lip extending onto her face and a missing tooth

Ms Thompson said she was left ‘fuming and heartbroken’ by the sentence. She told Chronicle Live she is ‘in pieces’  

Dean Sinclair was given a suspended sentence of 20 months suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and told he must do a ‘thinking skills programme’

Sinclair approached Ms Thompson from behind on the dancefloor, in July this year,  Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The court heard Sinclair, 36, of Washington, became more forceful and so Ms Thompson pushed him away, pushing back against him. He then whispered to her ‘you don’t reject me’ and pushed her into a crowd of people and she fell to the floor.

He moved towards her and she felt under threat and kicked out at him. Sinclair was then seen to kneel down and picked up a bottle from the floor, which he threw at Ms Thompson, hitting her in the face.

It didn’t break but caused a spilt on her lip – extending onto her face – and knocked a tooth out. She needed eight stitches to her face, has been left permanently scarred and has required extensive dental treatment. She described the pain she was in as 10 out of 10.

In a victim impact statement, she said she was left petrified and worried about possible repercussions. She said her fear was increased after getting a message on social media afterwards saying ‘alright split lip, how’s it hanging’ but Sinclair said he did not send it and that he doesn’t have a Facebook account.

Here Dean Sinclair is pictured after the attack where he hurled a bottle at Ms Thompson. The attack happened in July of this year

Sinclair, who has 59 convictions on his record, including for violence and previously got a football banning order, pleaded guilty to GBH. 

He was sentenced to 20 months suspended for 18 months with 200 hours unpaid work, an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement and he must do a ‘thinking skills programme’. 

He must also pay the victim £4,000 compensation. Judge Robert Adams said he had come very close to going straight to prison.

Ms Thompson, who has a young child and had only had three drinks that night, said she was left ‘visually a mess’ and didn’t sleep until she knew her attacker had been arrested. She said she keeps getting flashbacks to what happened and has been left ‘physically and mentally drained’ and feels ‘caged in her own home’. 

Ms Thompson, who has a young child and had only had three drinks the night of the attack. She said she was left ‘visually a mess’

The court heard he had been to a funeral that day and consumed a lot of alcohol and decided to go clubbing on his own. Kate Barnes, defending, said: ‘He wishes, through me to express his sincere remorse to his victim. He knows he has done wrong and has come today prepared to be punished, as he knows he must.

‘Under the influence of alcohol, he failed to think about the consequences of his actions, both in approaching (her) and causing the injury to her with the bottle. It’s really alcohol that lays behind everything on his unenviable antecedent history.’

Miss Barnes added that he works as a shop fitter or labourer and wants to get back in employment to support his partner and children.