The doorman of a city centre pub who kneed a drunk student in the groin has been handed a suspended sentence.
The student was one of a group of four who ‘rushed’ at bouncers after being ejected from Filthy McNastys on Belfast’s Dublin Road in 2017.
Following the assault, the 20-year-old student was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery to remove his appendix and part of his intestine.
Mark Gribben (27), from Kimberley Street in Belfast, admitted a charge of causing grievous bodily harm to the student on October 13 2017.
He appeared at a remote hearing of Belfast Crown Court via a videolink with his solicitor’s office, where he was handed a 15-month sentence suspended for two years by Judge Stephen Fowler QC.
The group had been escorted from the premises by door staff due to their drunkenness.
Judge Fowler said that while the injured student does not have a clear recollection of what occurred outside, the incident was captured on CCTV and “has been viewed by the court.”
The group began acting aggressively once outside, “gesturing and laughing” at the door staff.
They eventually approached the bouncers and tried to get back into the pub.
The court heard that at this point the students took out their mobile phones and started filming the doormen before the group “rushed at the door staff” who were “outnumbered by these males”.
CCTV showed the injured party being pushed by a member of staff and Gribben is then captured on CCTV administering a knee strike to the injured party’s groin area, which caused him to double over.
One of the students then punched Gribben in the back of the head, a fight broke out which Gribben played no further part in, then the students left.
Judge Fowler said a doctor was “unable to say” whether the student’s pre-existing Crohn’s played a factor in the severity of the injury, but the area where the perforation occurred was “affected by Crohn’s”.
The judge noted that Gribben has not re-offended since the incident, is no longer a doorman and has re-trained as a lorry driver.
He has a settled family life, an absence of issues such as drink or drugs and no relevant record.
Judge Fowler said: “It came against a backdrop of drunken aggression directed towards the defendant and his colleagues.
“It has to be said that there was an element of provocation from a verbally and physically hostile group of drunken students.”