Man who bit off ear of other man after claiming he looked at his genitals avoids jail
Martin Gallagher was handed a two-year suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court
By Steve Brown
A man who bit off another man’s ear after claiming he looked at his genitals avoids jail.
Martin Gallagher, 28, accused the 20-year-old victim, who was left with a disfigured ear, of looking at his genitals while in the toilets in a Newcastle nightclub.
Gallagher had been drinking with his friends last year when he got in an argument with the victim in the toilets.
He accused the victim of looking at his genitals while he was urinating before following back into the club to start a fight, Chroncile Live reported.
The victim tried to explain that he hadn’t looked and fought back to protect himself, but Gallagher was able to sink his teeth into the victim’s ear and ripped part of it off.
The two men were thrown out of the club and the victim was taken to hospital while Gallagher was arrested.
He was charged by police and pleaded guilty to assault occasioning grievous bodily harm at Newcastle Crown Court.
Detective Constable Lisa Common, of Northumbria Police’s Central CID, said: “This was an unprovoked attack on a complete stranger who had gone out that night to socialise with friends.
“Instead, he was confronted by a drunken male who was so out of control he bit the victim’s ear off.
“The victim has been left suffering not just permanent physical injury, but emotional trauma as a result of the incident.
“I hope he can take some comfort in the sentence that has been given today.”
Gallagher was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence.