Fight on the dancefloor
A WANNABE childcare worker has admitted punching a woman in the mouth with a plastic drinking glass in her hand after a dancefloor skirmish at the Geelong Hotel.
The victim, a beauty worker, had a front tooth broken when hit by Highton woman Alayna Edwards on April 30.
The Geelong Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday Edwards also spat at a security worker when she was escorted from the hotel after the attack.
Magistrate John Lesser was told the punching victim had physical and psychological scars and mounting orthodontic bills.
Edwards, 22, represented herself in yesterday’s hearing, avoided conviction and copped a $2750 fine. She was also ordered to pay $738.70 compensation to her victim, although the court heard her treatment was ultimately expected to cost $3500.
Edwards — a part-time waitress at Buckley’s Entertainment Centre training to be a childcare worker — argued a conviction would hurt her career prospects.
“My schooling is the most important thing to me at the moment and to lose that would mean a lot to me,” she said.
The court heard Edwards and a friend got into a “push and shove” with the victim on the dancefloor and pursued her when she moved to a different part of the hotel.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Chris Capuano said CCTV footage showed the friend was evicted by security after throwing beer in the victim’s face and Edwards then attacked, grabbing the woman by the hair and punching her in the face with the plastic pot glass in her hand.
“This is a very serious matter . . . the accused should consider herself lucky she wasn’t charged with recklessly causing serious injury,” Sen-Constable Capuano said.
“We know the effects al- cohol-fuelled violence has in the community, in pubs and clubs.”
Edwards pleaded guilty to counts of recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault and behaving in an offensive manner.
She said she had been in hospital three days before the incident for a kidney infection and was on prescription medication at the time of the pub incident.