Abh And Common Assault Charge, Sentencing Advice Needed

[Ducky181]

Right so, Ive just had my letter through from the magistrates with my court date.
Im up on ABH and Common assault.

The backstory: Sisters fella walked out on her and there child (my niece) 7 years ago.
Left her in alot of debt, used to beat her up pretty bad, terrible father etc etc etc
Vanished of the face of the earth as far as the family was concerned, nobodys heard so much as a squeek out of him since he left.

The incident:
Walks into my place of work like he doesnt have a care in the world, turns out he's come for a job interview. I automatically leave go to leave the shop floor because as soon as i saw his smug *** face my blood starts to boil.
As i pass by him he obviously recognises me and asks how my sister and his daughter are doing.
Well, im not usually a violent man, but i saw red.

Went for him, completely missed with the couple of punches i threw cos he was running away like a little ***, my boss jumps in the middle, i fall into my boss. Everyone ends up on the ground in a pile with me still trying to get at him.

Injuries: He's got a broken finger (?) and a cut on his face from hitting a table on the way down

Im up for ABH on him and Common assault on my boss because it was classed as "applying unlawful force".

Since left the job by mutual agreement, not fired.

Didnt get arrested, had a voluntary interview . Didnt try to lie, i knew it was on CCTV so absolutely no point.

Yes i know im an idiot for attacking him and yes i regret it.

I accept fully what i did and am just wanting alittle bit of an insight into what kind of sentence the community feels will be handed down by the courts.

Previous Convictions: None


Cheers in advance

[Rosie29]

I don't know anything about the law - there are some very well informed people on here who might help you. But Ì would think if you express your regret as you have done here it will help you a lot. It sounds as if you weren't actually provoked and his previous behaviour to your sister will not be taken into account.

[Buenchico]

The magistrates will probably see the ABH offence as 'Category 3' (which is the lowest category). The 'starting point' sentence for Category 3 is 'medium level' community order, with the magistrates then having to work up or down from there. The lowest penalty they can impose is a Band A fine which, in turn, has a 'starting point' of 50% of 'relevant weekly income' and a range of between 25% and 75% of such income. ('Relevant weekly income' is take home pay if you're getting at least that much or a fixed figure of £120 in all other circumstances). The highest penalty they can impose is a 'high level' community order. (i.e. as long as the magistrates agree with me that it's a Category 3 offence, you CAN'T be sent to prison).

The Common Assault charge is unlikely to be sentenced separately but it might just push up the sentencing for the ABH charge by a very small amount.

So, as I see it, the magistrates will start in the middle of the Category 3 range, with a 'medium level' community order. They'll then be minded to move the sentencing down a bit due to you pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity. However the Common Assault offence might possibly prevent them going all the way down to the very lowest point available.

So my best bet is a 'low level' community order and/or a Band A fine (or perhaps a Band B one, which is between 75% and 125% of 'relevant weekly income').

See pages 177 to 180 here to read what the magistrates will actually have in front of them in regard to the ABH offence:
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/MCSG-April-2017-FINAL-2.pdf
(As I've indicated, the Common Assault offence can probably be largely ignored anyway; it's the ABH offence which will determine the sentence. However, if you want to read the stuff about sentencing for Common Assault, it can be found on pages 189 to 192).

See here for what community orders can involve:
https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/droppable/item/community-orders-table/

[EDDIE51]

Get a solicitor ! It will be free and the solicitor will ensure that you put your case in the most favorable 'Light' !
But I would be surprised if it is not a 'Conditional Discharge' ! This does NOT mean that you have 'got away' with it ! Just that no further action will be taken , as long as you 'behave' !

[ummmm]

I can't believe your boss has taken it further!!

Buenchico and Eddie will always quote textbook stuff but in my experience (I know naughty people) it rarely pans out that way. It's often potluck.

Get as good a solicitor as you can afford and good luck.

[ummmm]

Sorry, didn't read Eddie's answer properly. In this case he hasn't quoted textbook stuff.

[Ducky181]

Many thanks for all the replies.
I have of course got a decent solicitor and he’s pretty relaxed about it but that doesn’t stop me from worrying.
I’m not bothered about community service and fines I probably deserve it I just want to stay clear of a custodial if possible

[Buenchico]

I've spent over half a century reading court reports (and I've done a bit of court reporting myself), Ducky181. Even if I didn't have the above links available (which show that there's not a moggie in Hades chance of you being sent to prison), I'd still be 100% certain that a non-custodial sentence will be passed.

[Ducky181]

The charges have been reduced to 2 section 39 assault by beating charges as the questionable broken finger turned out to be a red herring.
Again thankyou for your answers