Drunken clubber Courteney Dymond decided to seek revenge on a woman she suspected of previously sleeping with her ex-boyfriend by pushing her head down a toilet bowl, beating her and pulling lumps of her hair out.
The attack happened in March 2019 at the Empire Nightclub in Bedford where Miss Dymond, who is now 20-years-old, was out that night.
Luton crown court heard today that on spotting the other young woman in the club she went up to her and asked if they could go somewhere to talk.
Dymond appeared friendly, said prosecutors Richard Sedgwick, and so the other woman agreed to accompany her to the ladies toilets in the club.
But once inside Dymond, who was heavily intoxicated, pushed the other woman into a toilet cubicle screaming at her “Why did you f… my man.”
Mr Sedgwick said the other woman knew the man Dymond was referring to, but hadn’t seen for a year. But what happened next, the court heard, was a sustained and vicious attack by Dymond on the victim.
She pulled at her hair, pulling clumps of it out by the roots. She kicked and punched the other woman even using her knee to inflict blows. Mr Sedgwick went on “She made a sustained attempt to push the other woman’s head into the toilet and threatened to stab her.”
Judge Andrew Bright QC hearing the case was told the victim managed to get out of the cubicle and a cleaner who was present was able to get her away from Dymond and to a back office at the club.
Police were called and Dymond who was by now outside on the street was arrested. Mr Sedgwick said during her arrest she became abusive to a police officer calling him a “f…… bald c…” before kicking him in the calf.
In court on Friday, August 28, Dymond of Barkers Lane, Bedford pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman occasioning her actual bodily harm and assault by beating of an emergency worker.
Judge Bright was told the assault had taken place at the nightclub in the early hours of March 17 last year. Mr Sedgwick as a result of attack in the toilet cubicle Dymond’s victim had had huge lumps of her hair pulled out by the roots.
She had suffered black eyes and bruises to her face and head.
Judge Bright heard that the emotional impact and trauma of having lost clumps of her hair that night was something the victim was trying to deal with.
The court heard her confidence had been affected and it could take up to seven years for the hair to fully grow back to normal.
Dymonds antecedents were given in court which revealed she had previous convictions for offences battery and public order and assault committed in her teens.
Judge Bright told the court “This was a very unpleasant, nasty revenge attack.” He said it had been a very humiliating and viscous attack.
Carl Woolf defending said Dymond’s relationship with a boyfriend was over at the time, but she she still bore a grudge. He said his client knew she had acted appallingly that night and that her actions were completely unacceptable.
The court was told that Dymond who is a carer is now training to be a fitness instructor and has taken steps to turn her life around.
Passing sentence Judge Bright told her:” You are only 20 but you have already developed a tendency to commit acts of violence when you lose your temper or you have had too much to drink.”
The judge said it appeared Dymond believed the victim had had “some sort of of sexual liaison” with her ex-partner. “You singled her out to take revenge on her for having had a relationship with your boyfriend sometime before.
What is shocking is the way you set about taking your revenge on her.” He said whether the victim’s hair can fully grow back to normal is something “only time will tell.”
The judge said despite Dymond threatening to stab the other woman there was no evidence she had a knife on her that night. He sentenced her to eight months imprisonment which was suspended for 18 months and told her for the next six months she will be the subject of a home curfew when she will have to be indoors between the hours of 9pm and 6am.
She will also have to carry a 30 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement when she will work with the probation service to address her offending and her behaviour.
The judge said her victim that night had suffered psychological harm caused by the attack on he.
He told Dymond she must pay the victim £1750 in compensation and £100 compensation to the police officer who she kicked that night during her arrest.
Finally she was told she must pay £340 towards the cost of the prosecution. The judge told Dymond she had come close to going in to prison