Two-year prison term for unprovoked attack
A YOUNG man from a “very respectable law-abiding family” punched a man out cold causing serious head injuries.
Calum Reape launched the unprovoked attack outside a town centre taxi office – but has no explanation as to why.
His victim was left unconscious on the pavement, and suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, hearing loss, and severe vertigo.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the incident took place in the early hours of August 9 last year on Market Street in Bridgend.
David Pinnell, prosecuting, said both Reape, who was 20 at the time, and the victim had been out on the night in question with their respective friends.
The court heard that at around 4am the victim was standing outside a taxi office on the street when Reape approached him and, without warning, delivered a punch which sent the man crashing to the floor.
The defendant then lost his balance and fell on top of the unconscious man, and tried to deliver a number of further blows to the head.
Mr Pinnel said a number of other people who were in the area waiting for taxis rushed to intervene, with one man “kicking him [Reape] off” the stricken man. The defendant was taken to the floor by a number of people and he received “summary justice” in the form of kicks and punches. Meanwhile a couple had gone to the aid of the victim, and put him in the recovery position.
The court heard it was several minutes before the victim moved, and that with the help of passers-by he got to his feet in a “groggy” state before making his way home on foot.
Mr Pinnell said that the victim slept for a while after getting home then began complaining of a headache and blurred vision, and went to hospital. He was later diagnosed with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, and suffered from temporary hearing loss.
The court heard he was left with severe vertigo which effectively left him bed-bound for six weeks.
In an impact statement the victim said the assault had effected his hearing, and left him suffering with migraines and feelings of anxiety.
Reape, now aged 21, of Bryntirion, Bridgend, had previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.
Rhys Taylor, for Reape, said the defendant was studying hard in college, had aspirations to become a surveyor, and came from a “very respectable, law-abiding family”.
He said his client had drunk “an awful lot” of alcohol on the night in question after a period of being stuck at home during the Covid lockdown, and he described the incident as “a moment of madness” in a life which had seen his client doing everything right up to that point.
The barrister said there had been no problems or issues between the two men either on the night or previously, and the defendant was at a loss to explain why the assault happened.
He added that Reape, through him, wished to apologise to the man he punched.
Recorder Lucy Crowther told the defendant he had carried out an “unwarranted and unprovoked attack” on his victim which had led to serious consequences, but she accepted there was a very different side to his character and that he was genuinely remorseful.
The record said it was “terrible shame” that the defendant was appearing before the courts for the first time on such a serious charge and that she had thought long and hard about whether the custodial sentence she was going to impose was one that had to be served immediately or could be suspended.
She said: “I have concluded, with some sadness, that this is not a sentence I can suspend.
“Members of the public are entitled to be protected from people who cannot control their violence whether intoxicated or not.”
Giving the defendant a 25% discount for his guilty plea the recorder sentenced him to 24 months in prison – he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence under the UK Government’s early release scheme to serve the remainder in the community.