A woman beater blinded his ex partner by punching her to the face while holding his mobile phone and fractured her eye socket. He smirked throughout the attack and went on the run for a month when the police were called.
Craig Gibson, 33, assaulted his then partner at her home in Barry at around 6am on December 29 last year when he turned up at her home "extremely intoxicated". She refused to let him in after he threw stones at her window but he wouldn't take no for an answer and charged the door down.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard the victim felt fearful as the defendant made his way upstairs and proceeded to punch or slap her to the face three times. During the assault, Gibson said to the woman "F****** hell, look what you have done now".
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Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said the defendant appeared to be "finding the whole thing funny" and was smiling throughout. He then struck the victim to the face while holding his mobile phone, and she described "everything going black" and felt blood dripping down her face.
Following the attack, Gibson kissed the victim in the cheek and told her he would "sort the door out in the morning". Mr Griffiths said she thought the defendant "might killer her" during the assault.
She sustained a number of cuts to her lips and an "orbital floor" fracture to her left eye which left permanent damage to the vision in that eye. The injury caused an "impairment of perception".
The police were called but it wasn't until January 27 that Gibson, of Robins Lane, Barry, handed himself into police and he gave a no comment interview, while claiming the blow with the phone was an "accident". He later pleaded guilty to section 20 grievous bodily harm and criminal damage. The court heard the defendant had 51 previous convictions, including domestic violence, harassment, battery, assault, drug offences and driving matters.
In a victim personal statement read out to the court, the woman said: "Everyone has the right to go about daily life without being impeded by outside forces out of their control." The victim said the incident had taken her home away from her and had been "robbed" of a peaceful and happy life.
She said the injury to her eye and had left her with significantly reduced vision which caused severe headaches and will not be able to return to her job as a beauty therapist. The victim added: "It feels like he has finished me off and my life is hell."
The victim later made another statement, in which she described Gibson as a "good person" who had "acted out of character". She said she had no interest in speaking to the defendant but did not wish for their to be a restraining order in place.
In mitigation, Ruth Smith said her client had been remanded in custody, during which time he had sought help for his alcohol use. She described the accident as "unpleasant" and the defendant would have to live the fact he had permanently injured someone he loved.
Sentencing, Recorder Neil Owen-Casey said: "This was a nasty, horrific incident and you have absolutely no care in the world for the impact on your victim... You left your victim with permanent injury and is now legally blind in one eye."
Gibson was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment. He will serve half the sentence in custody before being released to serve the remainder on licence.
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