"Inhumane" assault on a stranger: pair jailed

Sentencing Daniel Simpson and Omaan Jahangir, recorder Duncan Smith told them the incident was one of the most inhumane and disgraceful incidents he had heard in a long time.

Jahangir (22), of Brunswick Road, Broom, and Simpson (27), of Wharncliffe Side, Morehall View, Sheffield, both admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an early hearing.

They were both jailed for two years when they appeared on November 15 at Sheffield Crown Court for sentencing.

The court heard the men had come across the 34-year-old victim, who was described as "incredibly vulnerable", at a petrol station at Herringthorpe Valley Road in the early hours of the morning on July 3 last year.

The slightly built man was alone and drunk and was bundled into the car and driven to Dole Lane, Whiston.

Recorder Smith said: "You tricked him into getting into your car on the premise of taking him to a party, but instead you took him to an isolated spot and kicked him about the head.

"It beggars belief why you did that other than for the sheer enjoyment of seeing that man suffer.

"You got in your car and drove off leaving him to his fate.

"You didn't know how much damage you caused him - you didn't care at all.

"It is the most inhumane set of circumstances I have come across in a long time."

Det Con Dan Callaghan from Rotherham's Performance Crime Team, said after the hearing: "A member of the public found the victim with serious facial injuries laid out on the floor. 

"He required hospital treatment and it is a small mercy that his injuries were not far more severe. 

"An investigation was immediately launched and, working with the victim, we were able to identify a number of scenes that were then examined for forensic evidence. 

"The victim was not known to either defendant, which makes their initial approach to the victim and attack that much more concerning. 

"Through CCTV and automatic number plate recognition enquiries, we were able to identify the vehicle the victim was transported in by Jahangir and Simpson and we arrested Jahangir in the days that followed. 

"Simpson voluntarily attended at a police station to be interviewed in relation to the matter. 

"Targeting someone randomly and subjecting them to violence and threatening behaviour is unacceptable."