Doorman who kneed student in groin avoids jail
THE doorman of a city centre pub who kneed a drunk student in the groin has been handed a suspended sentence.
The student was part of a group of four who ‘rushed’ at bouncers after being ejected from Filthy Mcnasty’s in 2017.
Following the assault, the student was rushed to hospital and had surgery to remove his appendix and part of his intestine.
Mark Gribben, from Kimberley Street in Belfast, admitted causing grievous bodily harm to the student on October 13, 2017.
The 27-year-old appeared at a remote hearing of Belfast Crown Court via a videolink, where he was handed a 15-month sentence, suspended for two years, by Judge Stephen Fowler QC.
The judge said that while the injury caused to the student was serious, it occurred during “drunken aggression” against the outnumbered door staff.
The injured party and other students had been drinking before going to Filthy’s on the Dublin Road. The night passed without incident, until the group was asked to leave. Due to their drunkenness, they were escorted from the premises by door staff.
After the injured student and a second male left the premises without incident, they remained outside and began ‘gesturing and laughing’ at the door staff.
A third male, who initially refused to leave, joined his two friends outside and began acting aggressively. When a fourth student appeared, the group tried to get back into the pub.
At this point the students took out their mobile phones and started filming the doormen before they ‘rushed at the door staff ’ who were ‘outnumbered’.
CCTV showed the injured party in the doorway of the bar he had just been ejected from. He was then pushed out by a staff member. Gribben is shown on CCTV administering a kneestrike to the injured party’s groin area. One of the students then punched Gribben in the back of the head, a fight broke out which Gribben played no further part in, and then the students left.
The group went back to their student accommodation and after suffering pain in his groin area, the injured man went to hospital. He underwent emergency surgery to remove his appendix, part of his intestine and suffered a perforated bowel.
The judge said that after reading a victim impact statement, it was clear there had been significant physical and mental implications for the student, who was 20 at the time of the incident.
Turning to Gribben, Judge Fowler said that during an interview with police on October 26, 2017, he confirmed he was working as a doorman on the night and ejected a group due to complaints from other customers.
Gribben told police that this group then ‘displayed mob mentality’ outside the premises, and subjected them to threats. He also denied intending to cause the injury sustained, and said he was acting in self-defence.
Judge Fowler said the use of a knee to a vulnerable area was disproportionate and resulted in very serious injury, but accepted it was done without planning or pre-meditation.