Devon: Man jailed for stamping on head of stranger in homophobic attack
A 20-year-old man in Devon has been jailed for stamping on a stranger’s face in a homophobic attack and leaving the victim unconscious on a pavement.
Connor Pollard from Torquay punched the victim – who was not gay – and jumped on his head outside a pub in the town last September.
The BBC reports Pollard had been drinking with two women before the attack and then subjected the victim to abuse.
Judge Francis Gilbert, QC warned that homophobic violence would “not be tolerated on the streets”.
He said to Pollard: “To stamp on someone’s head is a vile and vicious thing to do. It can cause really serious harm or even death.
“A witness describes you jumping on his head with a lot of force when he was already covered in blood.”
The defence claimed the assault was not motivated by homophobia and the taunts had been made by the two women and not by Pollard.
The victim, who is married and has children, received 12 stiches to the head.
Exeter Crown Court jailed Pollard for 12 months in a young offenders’ institution.
He admitted causing actual bodily harm.
“Any incident which is perceived to be homophobic or transphobic by the victim” – regardless of the individual’s sexuality can be treated as a homophobic crime by the Crown Prosecution Service for England and Wales.
