A pub doorman says he was left with “horrific” injuries and then “robbed” of the chance to face his attacker.
Craig Rimmer, 39, of Folkestone, assaulted Jonathon Proctor while on duty at Folkestone’s Old Cigar and Olive on November 23, 2024.
Mr Proctor says the incident left him with multiple leg injuries, forcing him onto Universal Credit and to rely on crutches, while awaiting Rimmer’s trial.
But on July 29 at Canterbury Crown Court, Rimmer, of Wood Cottage Lane, changed his plea to guilty to occasioning actual bodily harm against Mr Proctor.
Judge Simon Taylor KC sentenced Rimmer the same day, ordering him to pay £2,000 compensation. Mr Proctor says he was not invited to attend or submit an updated Victim Personal Statement detailing his ongoing suffering and need for surgery.
“I was completely robbed of my chance to see my attacker face the courts or to see the little justice that was done actually being done,” Mr Proctor said after the hearing.
“To be denied justice is an insult to myself and to all door staff who work the nightlife economy – I feel that it has been such a miscarriage of justice.
“There needs to be a deterrent. You can’t just allow door staff to be punching bags.
“This is a very nasty assault and the male has effectively been given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. I have suffered horrific injuries to my leg.”
KentOnline has asked the Crown Prosecution Service, Kent Police and Courts and Tribunals Judiciary why he was not notified, but none has provided an explanation.
The Folkestone resident stresses the attack left him with an injured anterior cruciate ligament, nerve damage and torn knee cartilage, for which he is awaiting surgery.
Since the attack, the 33-year-old says he has been forced out of work and onto Universal Credit, with ‘catastrophic’ financial repercussions.
He has also battled sustained pain, which he believes should have been taken into account when Rimmer was sentenced.
“Nobody from the court or police invited me to the sentencing hearing, the judge just went ahead with it. I’ve asked how this could have happened but I haven’t been given answers,” he said.
“The financial impact on me has been catastrophic. I’m going from working 60 hour weeks to not being able to do even 20 hours. My body is exhausted.
“I’ve now got to take painkillers regularly. It hurts like hell and this is my life now.
“I’m doing the exercises the physiotherapists keep telling me to do but it’s a very slow battle to get it back to any sort of normal.”
The town’s Christmas light switch-on had been cancelled on the evening of the assault due to high winds, creating a “hot and tempered” atmosphere, according to Mr Proctor.
“There was something in the air and I jokingly said to the council licensing officers that night ‘It feels like something’s going to happen,’ “ he added.
“Little did I know.”
A group of about nine people became rowdy, prompting Mr Proctor to ask them to leave, but the situation turned violent when Rimmer launched his attack.
Police and ambulance crews were called to the Rendezvous Street bar, and the security guard was taken to hospital, while Rimmer left the scene before officers arrived.
He was later charged with occasioning actual bodily harm and pleaded not guilty at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court in July 2025.
Mr Proctor says he was never made aware of this hearing, and feels like Rimmer was “snuck” into the courthouse.
Now, he is working with his MP, Tony Vaughan, who is helping push for his case and the sentence to be reviewed, Mr Proctor said.
“We go to work so people can have a good night out,” he added.
“Why should we be punching bags for that?
“I know the courts are busy, I know the jails are full – but that should never be an excuse to say ‘Go assault a door staff and get a slap on the wrist’.”
Source – Kentonline