RAPIST KICKED STRANGER IN HEAD OUTSIDE BAR WRONGLY THINKING VICTIM WAS ALSO A RAPIST
A convicted rapist kicked a stranger in the head outside a bar, wrongly believing that his victim was also a rapist.Christopher Lawton left the other man lying motionless on the pavement after throwing him out of the pub and viciously booting him to the face.
This attack was said to have been motivated by a mistaken belief that the other customer was a sex offender, although there are no records of him having such convictions.
By contrast, his assailant was previously sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after a sexual assault upon a mother and daughter which a judge labelled "every woman's worst nightmare".
In a court hearing, CCTV footage was shown of Lawton, of Mount Pleasant Avenue in the town, pushing the victim out of the bar and to the floor, where he was then seen to forcefully kick the other man in the head.
The 45-year-old defendant was subsequently seen walking away from the scene as others tended to the complainant, who was unconscious for up to four minutes.
The assault was carried out after Lawton was told by a woman inside that the victim had raped her in the past and gone to prison for it.
However, the court noted this was not reflective of the victim's actual record.
Merseyside Police attended after a report that a man, Damon Birch, was left unconscious outside Perry's Bar.
Mr.
Birch suffered extensive bruising but no fractures, and he recalls very little about the incident, which has left him frightened to go to the town centre and triggered emotional distress.
He described constant pain, headaches, and fear of re-encountering Lawton.
Lawton has previous convictions for assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in his youth, and was last jailed for 12 years in 2004 for rape and indecent assault of a mother and daughter.
His solicitor described him as remorseful, supporting his mother who is terminally ill, and working through mental health issues such as paranoid psychosis.
Lawton admitted to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Sentencing Judge Ian Harris stated: "You pushed Mr Birch out of the bar.
His recollection is going outside for a smoke.
He then remembers nothing, apart from being struck on the floor.
You kicked him forcefully to the head while he was defenceless, causing him to become unconscious for some minutes.
He is still in pain and afraid, feeling his independence has been taken away." Lawton was sentenced to 18 months in prison and received a 10-year restraining order.
