Josh Rooney, 41, of Gateshead, subjected his son to a violent public assault that left him covered in blood and unconscious after a drunken row over whether it was 4am or 4pm, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Details of the Attack
The father and son had visited numerous pubs in Newcastle and Gateshead when Rooney's temperament soured and he became aggressive in a taxi due to confusion about the time. Rooney swung his arm backwards attempting to strike his son in the cab, and when it stopped, he hauled him onto the street and began pummelling him. The victim retaliated, but Rooney forced him to the ground, using his weight to leave him helpless, striking him in the face and body before placing his hand around his neck as if to throttle him.
The victim lost consciousness for 15 to 30 seconds and regained awareness to find himself drenched in blood. Rooney then declared, "do you think you are the big man," booted him in the face, and stamped on his head and shoulder while he lay on the floor.
Witness Accounts
A woman who observed the attack contacted the police. She reported the younger man appeared unconscious and that Rooney lifted him up and hurled him against a wall. Andrew Epsley, prosecuting, said: "She thought the younger man was dead because he looked like a ragdoll and his face was covered in blood. She told him to stop and he said 'it's my f****** son' and carried on. The woman said to the police at one point 'I think he has f****** killed him.'" Workers at a bar tried to intervene, but Rooney refused to let them near the victim, declaring, "this is my son." Rooney was observed to prod his son with his foot and declare, "I hope you die."
Victim Impact
The victim sustained injuries including facial and forehead bruising, a lacerated lip, hand soreness, forehead swelling, and marks on his forehead. In a victim impact statement, he revealed he had a head wound and injured ankle, and it took six weeks for bruising to disappear, during which he felt self-conscious. He claimed to have lost up to £3,000 in wages as a labourer. He said: "I became a recluse. I looked awful and felt awful and I lost two-and-a-half stone. I remember sitting on the pavement sobbing. Even with the police next to me he was shouting at me across the car park. I can no longer bear to be around drunk people. I'm scared and wary of their unpredictability. The assault has changed my personality. I've lost friends from not being as sociable and I've lost friends from supporting this prosecution. I know it was the right thing to do but some of my closest friends have called me a grass." Speaking about his father, he said: "I gave him chance after chance only for him to do this to me. He is my father and if I can't trust him, who can I trust."
Sentencing
Rooney, who has 23 previous convictions and was under a community order at the time, admitted to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Robert Adams stated: "This was a total betrayal of his relationship with his son, beating his son in the way he did. I'm going to give him another chance but if he breaches it I'm going to send him to custody." He warned Rooney: "You could not possibly complain if I imposed an immediate custodial sentence. You recognise that's a likely outcome."
Rooney received a two-year suspended sentence for two years, along with 100 hours of unpaid work and a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. He was also issued a five-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting his son. Jordan Parkinson, defending, said: "His offending is directly linked to his mental health and resorting to excessive alcohol and cocaine consumption as a coping mechanism. This offence has been a huge wake up call to him. He knows he has severely damaged his relationship with his son. He is remorseful."
