Former policeman hit two women in the face ‘I’m still having nightmares CHRIS OSUH about attack by doorman’
AN EX-POLICEMAN turned bouncer hit two young women in a sickening street brawl after one said her complaint of sexual assault wasn’t being treated seriously.
Beth Jones was struck in the face by Richard Vaccari – who was working as a doorman – minutes after she complained a stranger had abused her at Sachas Wave Bar on Oldham Street in the city centre.
Beth’s friend, Leonie Marsh, was hit THREE TIMES by Vaccari in the melee, which was captured on CCTV.
A witness who saw the violence against Leonie said she ‘had never seen a woman struck so hard’.
Vaccari, 52, of Heald Green, later admitted affray. But he has been spared jail by a court which heard he had been attacked first by Leonie’s father, Alan – who admitted common assault – and that the two women had been involved in a ‘disgraceful and lengthy display of aggression’ before Vaccari lost his temper.
The trigger for the violence was the belief that staff at the venue did not take the sex assault complaint seriously after the two women, and then Mr Marsh complained.
At a Manchester Crown Court sentencing hearing Vaccari was ordered to pay £1,000 to Leonie Marsh, whose chin was left badly bruised. He was handed a sentence of 15 months, suspended for two years.
Judge Hilary Manley, sentencing, told Vaccari: “You allowed your temper to get the better of you in a shameful and unprofessional display – you displayed a total lack of fortitude and self-restraint, no matter what the provocation.”
The court heard that Leonie Marsh was out at the bar with her father and friend Beth on the afternoon of September 7, 2014. After an hour in the venue, Beth ‘felt a hand go up her skirt and feel her bottom’, prosecutor Rachel Faux said.
Mr Marsh went to ask ‘why nothing had been done’ after the women became concerned the complaint wasn’t being properly dealt with. Doorman Ben Richards asked Mr Marsh to leave as the conversation got heated, but Mr Marsh refused and was ejected.
Outside, Mr Marsh grabbed Vaccari around the neck, and his daughter Leonie threw a punch at Ben Richards, the court heard. Vaccari then hit Mr Marsh ‘in self-defence’, before punching the two women when they joined the fracas.
Richard Orme, defending, said “This was not a gratuitous attack on females, but rather in the heat of the moment, under attack himself, while a colleague is attacked, after he has been assaulted twice himself, he goes over the top – he apologises for that behaviour and he is ashamed of it.” AN afternoon drink in a city centre bar turned into a nightmare for Leonie Marsh and her family.
Her best friend, Beth Jones, was sexually assaulted and then both women, and Leonie’s dad Alan, were caught up in a brawl with bouncer and ex-policeman Richard Vaccari.
Leonie, 25, says she was hit by the former GMP officer with ‘boxer-like’ upper cuts and ended up in hospital with a bloodied face and severe swelling.
Mr Marsh, 52, an electrician, says he tried to persuade bar staff to seize CCTV as potential evidence of the sex assault. But as he spoke to a manager in the bar he was ejected by Vaccari and another doorman. Outside he was involved in a ruck with both bouncers and ended up being arrested by police and put in a cell. He was later given a £300 fine after admitting common assault.
Leonie said: “When my dad got removed by the bouncers Beth and I went out as well. Vaccari said to my dad ‘move them girls before I knock them out.’ Then he hit me in the face.
“I’ve jumped up and my dad is still on the ground. I’ve gone over to help and Vaccari hit me again. I had a sore face, my nose was bleeding, and there was a cut under my chin.
“It was awful. I still get flashbacks and nightmares.”