Trevor Hunt has been given a 16 year prison sentence for assault and causing life-changing injuries, and a 5 year extended license for grievous bodily harm with intent.
Hunt, 35 years old, is unemployed and lives at Wick Street, Littlehampton. He appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 2nd February following an eight-day trial.
At around 11.30am on Saturday 20th May 2017 police were called to an injured man in Courtwick Road, Littlehampton.
The 47-year-old victim was a man from Littlehampton. He was hospitalized with his nose and almost all his ribs broken, as well as extensive bruising and swelling to his face, making him virtually unrecognisable. In addition he suffered a life-changing brain injury and memory loss of the incident.
Once witnesses had begun to come forward, a warrant was obtained and officers entered Hunt’s address. Once inside officers found bloodstains on the walls, ceiling, furniture, flooring, underlay, clothing and shoes.
A forensic team confirmed the blood found in Hunt’s address was that of his victim. Hunt’s own shoes were found on the property, spattered with this blood.
Police searched Hunt’s Facebook profile and discovered a picture of the victim’s face and a video filmed just hours after the assault that showed Hunt with a blood-drenched duster.
Police arrested and charged him on 30th May 2017, after finding him in a tent in Littlehampton. He provided two accounts of what happened but denied assaulting the victim, blaming others for the man’s injuries.
A unanimous jury found Hunt guilty on 24th November and he was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 2nd February.
Judge Roger Hetherington, the man sentencing Hunt, said: “This was a serious attack sustained on a friend who was in no position to defend himself. You beat him to a pulp, raining blows to his body and head over a period of several hours.
“The injuries you caused were a broken nose, fracture to the lower eye socket, all ribs broken on both sides except the first, blood in the chest cavity, bruising to both kidneys and a traumatic brain injury, which when shown on a scan portrayed the trauma you would expect from a road traffic collision.
“Not content with that you humiliated the victim by advertising his injuries via photographs and videos posted to Facebook.
“The reason why the sentence is so high is down to previous crimes, the gratuitous degradation of the victim, the severity of the injuries caused, concealing evidence and preventing the victim from seeking medical assistance.”
After sentencing Detective Constable Claire Mitchell said: “Hunt sustained a lengthy attack on the victim showing a complete disregard for him and instead of calling for an ambulance while he lay injured in his flat, he documented an attempted defence story on Facebook.
“Hunt lied consistently throughout the trial in a bid to cover his tracks and showed little remorse to someone who was well-known to him.
“He is a dangerous and callous man and this sentence has allowed justice to be served.
“We would like to thank the staff on the Eartham Ward at Worthing Hospital, Kerwin Court and Victim Support for the care given to his victim.
“We would also like to thank the local Littlehampton community for having the courage to come forward with witness accounts, which aided us in our investigation tremendously.”
