A man who punched a woman outside a beach club in Portugal, leaving her with two fractured eye sockets and a broken nose, has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Coden Thompson, 23, attacked the woman on July 9, 2023, outside the NoSoloAgua beach club in Portimao, after she intervened in an argument between him and his girlfriend. The assault followed a day of heavy drinking.
The Attack and Its Aftermath
The victim had spent time with Thompson and his girlfriend at the club before leaving around 9pm. The prosecutor, Ellie-Louise Fradley, said Thompson's partner then approached the victim crying, saying that Coden had hit her. In a video, Thompson can be heard calling the women derogatory names.
The woman approached Thompson, saying she was not trying to wind him up but rather get him to calm down. He responded, "who the f*** are you?" and pushed her backwards. A friend of the defendant was between them, and then Thompson punched her in the face.
The woman's vision "went black" as she fell to the ground with her nose and eyes bleeding. She sustained two broken eye sockets, a fractured nose, and lacerations to the eyes. She was taken to hospital by ambulance and later attended several medical facilities in both Portugal and the UK for further treatment.
Identification and Arrest
Thompson fled the scene but was identified after footage of the incident spread on social media, and the victim picked him out during an identity parade. He was arrested on June 6, 2024. In a prepared statement to police, he claimed he had been approached by a woman acting in an "aggressive manner" who had "verbally abused" him. He said, "Before I knew it she was on the floor. I do not know how she got there."
He also messaged his mother, writing, "This girl's face is not what I have done at all," and told a friend, "If it has to get legal I have the advantage, it's clear self-defence."
Court Sentencing
Thompson, from Belcroft Drive in Worsley, pleaded not guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm but indicated he would plead guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm the evening before the sentencing hearing. In mitigation, Michael Johnson described the incident as "shameful" and a "moment of utter madness," adding, "To punch a female in her holiday clothes is the lowest of the low."
Recorder Sophie Cartwright KC dismissed the self-defence claim, telling Thompson, "This was an appalling act and a vicious attack." She noted that he had boxed recreationally and said, "Your power has caused life-changing injuries whose impact continues today, and will do for the rest of her life."
Thompson received a 13-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement, and to pay £1,000 in costs and £2,500 in compensation to the victim. The judge told him, "You have come very, very close to going down those stairs to custody today. I am only just persuaded that I can suspend this sentence."
