Man who broke woman's nose during drinking session is jailed

Timothy Wall was told by the judge who sent him down for two years that he should be ‘thoroughly ashamed of himself’.

The 40-year-old, who has been put behind bars in the past for arson and for throwing a bottle at a lorry on the A34, was at Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday (August 29) over an attack that dated back to August 2021.

He and his victim, a woman who was known to him, had been drinking in Witney when he made a pass at her.

Wall initially faced a charge of sexually assaulting the woman by touching her, although the charge was not pursued by prosecutors when the matter was sent up to the crown court by the magistrates.

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Prosecuting, Jonathan Sank described the defendant as ‘mauling’ the victim. When she pushed him away, Wall lost his temper. He put his hands around her throat, punched her in the face then struck her repeated blows as she tried to defend herself.

Judge Michael Gledhill KC told the defendant: “You thumped her so hard you smashed her nose, leaving bony particles floating in her nose. She had to have anaesthetic to correct the damage that you’d done to her.”

He added: “I look at the photographs taken shortly after this incident to see what members of the public would regard as horrific injuries.”

Oxford Crown Court, where the case was heard Picture: Ed Nix

It took almost a year for Thames Valley Police to send a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration over how it should be charged, the court heard.

The prosecution lawyers asked for further enquiries to be made, which were not completed until around March 2023. Wall’s case was not in front of the magistrates’ court until earlier this summer.

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Defending, Gordana Austin asked the judge to take the delay into account when he sentenced her client.

The difficulty facing Wall was that he had been in court since the assault was committed in August 2021 and been convicted of other crimes.

Wall, who had more than 80 offences on his list of previous convictions, was a long-term drug addict, who had also battled alcohol abuse. He had a number of mental health difficulties.

Jailing him for two years for causing actual bodily harm, Judge Gledhill told the defendant: “You ought to be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.”

He added: “Yes, you’re a class A drug addict. Yes, you abuse alcohol. Yes, you have a drug problem. But that does not in any way excuse your behaviour.”

A restraining order prevents Wall, of Main Road, Long Hanborough, from contacting his victim for a decade.

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