A woman who was left with horrific injuries after being punched and headbutted by a man says she feels “disgusted and disappointed” that he wasn’t jailed.
Josh Cox, 30, launched the vicious and unprovoked assault on Lorraine Sutherland when he couldn’t find the man who had supposedly “wronged” him.
The attack has left Ms Sutherland with terrible injuries, including permanently reduced vision in one eye and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Speaking after Cox was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, Ms Sutherland told The Press and Journal: “I’m sick of men thinking they can do this to women.”
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that in the early hours of December 7 2019 Cox turned up at the back door of a property in Cummings Park Circle looking for Ms Sutherland’s former partner.
He told her she was getting what her boyfriend “deserved” then, without warning, headbutted her in the face and shattered her cheekbone with a punch.
Ms Sutherland, 37, said she is angry that Cox wasn’t jailed, despite having a previous record for violence.
“The attack came out of nowhere,” she said.
“I stood up for myself, but I’m only five feet and he was over six feet.
“I can’t really remember a lot because I was knocked out at some point.
“Afterwards I felt mortified and degraded and I have lost part of my sight in my right eye.
“I’m angry that he just gets to walk away from this.”
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the dad-of-one’s left Ms Sutherland with a deep cut to her nose, a fractured cheekbone and smashed her tooth plate into four pieces, requiring nine stitches to the inside of her mouth.
Fiscal depute Christy Ward told the court that Ms Sutherland also sustained optic nerve damage to her right eye as a result of the attack, meaning she will have reduced vision in that eye for the rest of her life.
When Cox appeared in the dock he admitted one charge of assault to severe injury and permanent impairment.
‘He is completely disgusted by his actions’
Cox’s defence solicitor, John Hardie, told the court that his client was “filled with remorse” and had “accepted” that he took part in the attack.
Mr Hardie also described the change in Cox following the attack as “dramatic”.
“Since then he has completely changed his life”, Mr Hardie said. “He is completely disgusted by his actions and has offered compensation to the victim.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller said that despite Cox’s previous record of violence it was “only the passage of time” and the changes in his life that had stopped him from handing out a prison sentence.
He said: “You took out your frustrations on this woman by headbutting her and then punching her to the right side of her face, causing the consequences that have been described.
“You are also someone who has a record for offences involving aggravated violence.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Miller sentenced Cox, of Spinner Terrace, Stonehouse, Larkhall, to a community payback order and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community.
He also ordered cox to pay Ms Sutherland £1,500 in compensation.
Ms Sutherland described the decision not to send Cox to prison as “like a kick in the teeth”.
She said: “I feel really let down by the criminal justice system. I understand now why women who suffer domestic violence don’t come forward.
“I thought I was going to get some justice and some closure at the end of this, but now I’ve got nothing.
“That said, I hope some women read this and know that a man can’t treat them like this and get away with it.”
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