Jailed ror attack on girls

A 20-YEAR-OLD Seaford man has been jailed for four years after a vicious attack on two girls which left one nursing a broken jaw.

Jean Duvivier, of Sutton Avenue, was drinking with friends in Brighton last February when they got into an argument with three girls.

One of the group asked the girls to join them for a drink but when they refused that person shouted racist abuse and threw a bottle at them.

When the girls confronted the group, Duvivier punched Kelly Gregory, 20, in the face twice, knocking her to the ground and fracturing her jaw.

He then punched another girl, Zoe Lower, on the shoulder, also knocking her to the ground before stamping on her hand when she tried to pick up her glasses.

Duvivier admitted causing grievous bodily harm to Miss Gregory and causing actual bodily harm to Miss Lower.

He also admitted an affray relating to an incident two weeks later when he got into a fight with an acquaintance, Robert Scarth, while drinking with friends in a multi-storey car park in Newhaven.

Nicholas Anderson, prosecuting, told Lewes Crown Court: The defendant was out on February 7 this year in the early evening with two friends

in central Brighton. They came across a group of three girls who said the lads were drinking alcopops.

After refusing to drink with the men, a bottle came flying towards the girls.

Then there was a verbal exchange between the two groups and one of the defendant s friends made a racist remark to one of the girls.

When Miss Gregory tried to confront them, the defendant assaulted one of the other girls. When Miss Gregory tried to assist her friend, Mr Duvivier hit her on the right cheek.

She got up and then he hit her again and she fell to the floor. She thinks he may have kicked her while she was lying on the ground.

She suffered a fractured jaw which had to be wired to assist its healing.

Mr Anderson told the court the second assault was on Zoe Lower who was also angry about the racist comment made about their friend, Anneli Smith.

He said: Whilst remonstrating, the defendant turned and punched her on the right shoulder.

He then grabbed her head by grabbing her hair and banged it twice on to the ground. Then he kicked her on the floor.

Her glasses fell off and he stamped on them and on her hand when she tried to retrieve them.

Mr Anderson said the second offence happened .on February 17 in a multi-storey car park in Newhaven.

He said: Mr Duvivier had been drinking with a group of friends in the car park. Mr Scarth saw Mr Duvivier assaulting his friend.

He went over to intervene and was punched. Robert Scarth says he was punched repeatedly and kicked when he was on the ground.

Ali Bajwa, defending, said the offences were not planned and that Duvivier regretted losing his temper.

He said: He has great remorse for the more serious of the two offences and expresses this in a letter to the court.

He also regrets the second offence. This was a drunken altercation with a man known to him.

Sentencing, Recorder David Howker said Duvivier had committed a despicable and cowardly act on two young women.

You have a record of violence and it appears to me the level of your violence is escalating.

He sentenced Duvivier to three years in a young offenders institution for assaulting Kelly Gregory and 18 months for the attack on Zoe Lower, to run concurrently, and 12 months consecutively for the affray.