A man who woke up to discover that parts of his facial hair had been cut off during a night of passion has called the police, only to be met with smirks and chuckles from officers. The anonymous Reddit user shared his story online, where it quickly went viral.
The Incident
The man claimed he met a woman who was part of a hen do group while on a night out. Unbeknownst to him, the group was participating in various challenges. After bringing her home, he fell asleep and later woke up to find that sections of his beard had been cut off. He described having 'a thick blonde beard' that he had been growing and maintaining for several years.
Upon realizing what had happened, he decided to contact the police. However, when two officers arrived and saw his partially shorn beard, they reportedly 'smirked and chuckled.' The man expressed his frustration, stating, 'I get that this is a rather odd situation and that my facial hair looks a little ridiculous right now, but I wanted to at least be treated with respect.'
The officers recorded the incident and assigned a crime reference number, but indicated that it was unlikely the case would go any further.
Is Cutting Off Someone's Beard a Crime?
Criminal defense lawyer Stuart Nolan explained to Metro that the definition of assault or battery in law is 'the least unwanted touching.' This means that no physical injury, pain, or visible mark is required to commit this type of offense. Therefore, cutting or shaving someone's hair without their explicit consent would constitute assault.
Nolan referenced a notable case from 2006, where 21-year-old Michael Smith was accused of cutting off his ex-partner's ponytail with kitchen scissors while she slept. The victim, Michelle Tether, alleged that he pinned her down and cut her hair. Initially, the court ruled that Smith had 'no case to answer' due to lack of physical evidence and expert testimony regarding actual bodily harm. However, the prosecution appealed, and High Court judges deliberated for over an hour on whether unwanted hair removal could be considered assault. Ultimately, Smith was convicted of actual bodily harm, setting a precedent for similar cases.
The Redditor noted, 'I kind of feel like this wouldn't be getting treated so lightly if I had taken a pair of scissors to a woman's ponytail while she slept.' During the 2006 case, judges emphasized that a woman's hair carries particular significance and can be intrinsic to her identity. Mr. Justice Creswell stated, 'To a woman, her hair is a vital part of her body and where a significant portion of it is cut off without her consent, this amounts to a serious matter amounting to a not trivial or insignificant matter of bodily harm.'
Does He Have a Viable Legal Case?
Given this precedent, Nolan explained that technically, the act is an assault, but whether it is a criminal or civil assault remains to be seen. The key difference is that criminal assault is prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service, while civil assault is brought by the victim as a claimant.
One major issue with the Redditor's case is evidentiary. Although he claims to have the perpetrator's phone number and received a photo message of the hen party holding up his beard and laughing, he has little way to properly identify her. Nolan added, 'Let's assume that he knows her and could trace her, I'm not too sure the phone evidence is enough. The police could find the service provider details, but it may be an unregistered number.'
If he were able to successfully identify the perpetrator, Nolan believes he would have a much better chance. However, even then, it may not be evidentially sufficient to engage police resources. 'It may be required that the alleged victim take his own action, either by a private prosecution or civil suit,' Nolan concluded.
