A doorman injured while breaking up a fight has criticised the justice system after his attacker avoided jail and was ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation, leaving him with a knee injury that still requires crutches nearly two years on.
Jonathon Proctor, 33, was thrown to the floor by Craig Rimmer while escorting him out of the Old Cigar and Olive in Folkestone, Kent, on November 23, 2024. He suffered a serious knee injury in the fall and still needs crutches. Unable to work since, he is also relying on benefits to get by.
Court Sentence Sparks Anger
Proctor said he had hoped to face Rimmer in court after he was charged with ABH over the incident. But Rimmer changed his plea when Proctor was not at court, and was sentenced without Proctor present to see it.
Rimmer was spared jail and ordered to pay £2,000 in compensation. Proctor said: 'It still makes me so angry. I waited a year, over a year, for literally just to be able to sneak into court at the very last moment, change his plea, and get a £2,000 compensation order – it hurts. It was absolutely ridiculous.'
Details of the Hearing
At the hearing, the court heard that Rimmer, a father-of-three who works as a foreman for construction firm Balfour Beatty, had three 'relevant' convictions but had 'not been in trouble since 2011'. Defending, Rimmer's barrister said that 'he commands an impressive salary, that this could best be met by a fine'.
Sentencing, the judge told Rimmer he didn't think he 'deserved or needed to be punished any further' for his offending and made an order for compensation. The judge then wished Rimmer luck in getting back to Great Yarmouth.
Career Destroyed
Proctor says he feels like Rimmer has got off with a 'slap on the wrist' while he still deals with pain related to his injuries. He said: 'It's arrogance for me. Door staff go to work to make sure people like him can have a good night. What I don't anticipate is having my career destroyed by him. It makes me really angry.'
'My career, my whole entire career has now gone – my knee is unlikely to get back to full strength. I very much doubt I'll ever be in a mental state or physical state to go back on the doors. What he's effectively done is destroyed a good portion of what I can do now.'
Proctor now faces an operation on his knee after a scan revealed a tear in his meniscus, or knee cartilage, and ACL.
