Thug kicked man in head during ‘sickening’ attack
AVIOLENT brute who kicked a man in the head while he lay unconscious on the ground has been jailed for the ‘sickening’ unprovoked attack.
Oliver Williams, 24, punched the man in the face twice, which caused him to fall and hit his head on a concrete bin, before kicking him in the head ‘at full force’ outside a Rochdale nightclub.
He only stopped after being dragged away.
Williams had earlier been inside the club, on Packer Street in the town centre, when he got into an argument with a woman on the dancefloor in January this year.
Another man, who according to a doorman decided to walk away from the situation, was standing nearby at the time.
Once outside, the doorman witnessed Williams leave the club and attack the 49-year-old victim.
Police managed to trace him to an address in Smallbridge through CCTV footage and arrested him.
Now Williams, of Hollyoak Gardens, Heywood, has been sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court to six years in prison.
He had pleaded guilty to one count of section 18 assault at an earlier hearing.
The court heard that Williams has an extensive history of violent assaults, in which his victims were punched to the ground before being kicked or stamped upon.
The judge described the way he set upon the victim as ‘brutal and violent’.
Detective Constable Russell Clarke of GMP’s Rochdale Division said: “This was an unprovoked attack, which on another day could have led to the loss of the victim’s life.
“In the early hours of that morning, Williams saw fit to punch the victim unconscious to the ground and then as he lay motionless on the floor, kick him in the head with considerable force.
“The attack only came to an end after Williams was dragged away. The ferocity of the attack meant that the victim lost any memory of several hours before the incident, the incident itself and several hours after.
“CCTV captured the extent of this attack and is sickening to watch.
“Williams has a significant history of violent assaults on innocent people and it is clear that Williams poses a clear danger to the public.
“It is my hope that the sentence given today is enough to prevent Williams targeting and harming anybody else in the future whilst bringing some level of comfort to the victim, who continues in his recovery both physically and mentally.
“If it is anybody’s intention to go out drinking and attack innocent people, be clear that we will do everything to ensure justice is done and that you also find yourself behind bars.”
Williams’ mother Margo told the Observer after the case that her son comes from a loving family and has held down a job as a qualified electrical engineer since leaving school. She added: “The full story hasn’t been told. It was his first night out (the night of the attack) with his girlfriend in ages, and it came after they lost their baby. He doesn’t have an extensive history of violence.”
“It is clear he poses a danger to the public”