Rotherham brawl woman beats jail sentence

A YOUNG woman who viciously stamped on female in a Rotherham town centre brawl escaped jail after a court heard she was attacked for no reason.

Toni Crookes (20), could be seen on CCTV pictures kicking drunken Esmerelda Brierley to the ground and then repeatedly stamping on her upper chest and neck.

It would normally have resulted in a jail term for Crookes, but Sheffield Crown Court was told it was Brierley, described as an “alcoholic depressive”, who was the aggressor.

The incident took place both inside and outside the County pub in Rotherham town centre last October.

CCTV pictures shown in court revealed a drunken Miss Brierley attacking Crookes inside the bar and having to be pulled away by a male customer.

Outside on other cameras, the victim was seen behaving in an “aggressive and violent way” towards Crookes after she left the bar, said prosecutor David Wain.

She could be seen being restrained by two pub bouncers on the pavement outside the bar. A man with Crookes gesticulated from the middle of the road and Miss Brierley eventually broke free and crossed the road.

She then caught up with Crookes and began grappling with her as the bouncers ran across the road to try and break up the scuffle.

Crookes was shown to retaliate by kicking Miss Brierley in the midriff which knocked her over and then she stamped on her four times as she lay unconscious.

The victim was kept in hospital overnight and suffered cuts and bruises.

Crookes, who has a previous conviction for battery when she was 15, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

She told police she had been drinking and was remorseful when shown the CCTV pictures.

Dermot Hughes, for Crookes, said Miss Brierley had been determined to break free from the bouncers and Crookes “genuinely thought she was in some jeopardy” as outside the pub she was beyond the protection of the doormen.

Her attacker was an “alcoholic depressive who has been banned from many pubs in the town centre” and said Mr Hughes: “She got very much what she deserved.”

She had been goading the defendant for so long that Crookes was bound to snap eventually.

“The complainant was hardly able to stand and she was causing mayhem and terrorising everyone,” he said.

Crookes, of St Withold Avenue, Thurcroft, was a single mum mainly bringing up her child on her own and she also looked after her partner’s mother who was in ill health, he said.

Mr Hughes went on: “It does seem despite her previous conviction that it was a one-off.

It was an entirely unprovoked incident.”

Judge Alan Goldsack said the CCTV evidence showed Crookes was subject to a “great deal of provocation”.

He told her: “This is another incident of town centre violence when the other person had much more to drink than you but you had also been drinking.”

Crookes was given a 12-month community order with supervision. She was also told to attend a course for female offenders.

 

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