Annie Woods has been spared jail after bleach was thrown into a man's face in a 'targeted attack' in Liverpool city centre. The 22-year-old, of Minto Close in Kensington, was handed a 12-month community order at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday (July 21).
Incident details
Video footage of the incident on April 29 this year showed a woman in an Adanola hoodie and a face mask shouting at a man in a brown tracksuit. She and another male, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, approached him and threw a liquid over him from plastic bottles. They then told the person filming to put their phone down before walking away towards Bold Street.
Christy Hegarty and Annie Woods were charged with throwing a corrosive fluid, namely bleach, with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Woods admitted the lesser count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Court proceedings
Sarah Gruffydd, prosecuting, told the court that the victim sustained only minor injuries and damage to his clothing. Woods, defended by Jim Smith, suffers from conditions including autism spectrum disorder, dyspraxia, dyslexia, a sleeping disorder, eczema and partial sightedness.
Judge Ian Unsworth KC sentenced Woods to a 12-month community order, 50 hours of unpaid work, a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days, and a mental health treatment requirement. He said: 'Clearly, this was a worrying incident, but was short lived and did not cause injuries that were of the more serious kind, albeit a very worrying incident for the victim.'
Mitigation and sentence
The judge noted Woods' young age, previous good character, remorse, and that she is a victim of crime herself. He added: 'It is clear to me that you are someone who was not the prime mover in this case and were someone who was very much following others.'
Woods was also given a restraining order banning her from contacting the victim for five years. Hegarty, 23, of Doulton Street in St Helens, previously admitted assault by beating for throwing urine over the same victim. He was handed 12 weeks in jail but has since been released, having been remanded into custody after the incident.
