A student punched by a bouncer outside a popular Sheffield club says the attack ‘shattered’ his life after it left him with permanent nerve damage.
37-year-old defendant Wayne Campbell was working as a doorman at Dempsey’s nightclub on Hereford Street in Sheffield city centre when he hit the complainant so hard he fractured his jaw and knocked some of his teeth fillings out.
The complainant’s fractured jaw had to be treated with surgery, during which he had a metal plate inserted, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
“This incident has shattered my life,” the complainant said, in a statement read to the court.
He also described how he has been left with permanent nerve damage in his chin, which, along with the pain, serves as a ‘daily reminder’ of the assault.
In addition, the complainant described how the impact of the assault impacted on both his university and music career, taking away the opportunities he had hoped to seize, stripping him of his self-confidence, ruining his relationships, and resulting in him turning to alcohol.
Describing the force with which Campbell, of Neville Road, Kimberworth Park, Rotherham, punched him, the complainant described it as an eight out of 10.
In the run-up to the assault, the complainant – who was then a university student – was with a group of people who had tried to gain entry to Dempsey’s.
Prosecutor Glenn Parsons told a sentencing hearing held on November 19, 2024 that the complainant was himself granted access to the club; but after realising his friend had been refused entry he went back to the entrance to speak with door staff.
“He was told his friend wasn’t coming in, and that was the end of it. Unfortunately, matters then escalated into an argument and his group demanded to know why a member of his group was denied entry.”
“His group were told in no uncertain terms to leave the club, and to leave the area.”
Mr Parsons said the complainant was ‘taken hold of’ and ejected from the queue; and it was at this point that he proceeded to get his phone out and began to film what was happening.
“The complainant approached the defendant and asked for his security badge number. As he approached him with his phone torch out, the defendant can be seen to punch him,” continued Mr Parsons.
A short-lived scuffle ensued outside Dempsey’s, and the complainant subsequently left the scene to go to hospital to be treated for his injuries.
Following the incident at around 12.50am on December 5, 2021, Campbell was arrested and interviewed just under two months later on January 31, 2022. He answered ‘no comment’ to all questions posed, said Mr Parsons.
Despite there being available CCTV of the incident, which was played in court, Campbell was not charged until 2023.
After initially pleading not guilty and opting for a trial, Campbell subsequently admitted one count of causing grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.
Mr Parsons said Campbell had entered a basis of plea accepted by prosecutors, in which he stated the complainant had been behaving in a way that ‘concerned’ him; that he believed the complainant to be ‘intoxicated’.
Campbell also stated that when the complaint tried to get his badge number, he delivered a single punch to the jaw. He accepted the punch had resulted in his injuries, but denied landing a further blow during the scuffle that subsequently ensued.
Defending, Richard Barradell told the court that prior to this incident, Campbell had a clean criminal record.
Mr Barradell said Campbell ‘was not thinking straight’ at the time of the assault, adding that it followed the death of his mother, for whom he had been a carer.
Campbell was 34 at the time of the incident, but has since turned 37; and has remained out of trouble in the three years that have passed since, said Mr Barradell. Campbell no longer works as a doorman but does have part-time employment in a different role with the same company, the court was told.
He also described Campbell as a ‘family man,’ who plays an active role in the care of his three young children, which includes carrying out the school run while his partner is at work.
Mr Barradell suggested Campbell’s family would be significantly disadvantaged should he be sent straight to prison.
Judge Charles Thomas sentenced Campbell to 11 months’ custody, suspended for 18 months.
Describing why he felt able to pass a suspended sentence, Judge Thomas said he felt the delay in the case reaching court had been a ‘significant factor’ and had allowed Campbell to demonstrate in the interim that he had a ‘clear prospect of rehabilitation’.
Judge Thomas also made Campbell the subject of a three-month curfew, which will be in place between the hours of 7pm and 7am, and ordered him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Source – The star
