Bite attack left a hole in face

A man who bit into another’s face has been jailed for two years. Stephen Fox, 25, bit so hard into the face of his victim that he left a hole in his cheek leaving him scarred for life.

Details of the attack, which took place at a house party, were given at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal.

Fox, a chef, admitted to the attack on Kelvin McLaughlin at the party in April, 2012.

Mr McLaughlin, an architectural student, recalled to Judge John O’Hagan how the attack has changed his life. Despite extensive plastic surgery, he has been left with visible scars while he also continues to suffer psychologically as a result of the attack.

Both men had been at a party at 27A Oaklands Park in Letterkenny. There had been words between the pair earlier in the night.

Fox called Mr McLaughlin out to the back door and as the pair chatted, Fox lunged at the victim and sank his teeth into his face.

Mr McLaughlin was rushed to hospital and had to receive extensive treatment at Letterkenny General Hospital and at a plastic surgery unit at St James’s Hospital in Dublin.

Judge O’Hagan asked the victim to come closer in the witness box so he could see his injuries.

Mr McLaughlin, who also suffered a broken nose, described the pain he suffered.

“The pain was horrific and I felt like I was on fire. I was eating painkillers but I still felt like I was on fire,” he said.

Judge O’Hagan sentenced Fox to four years in prison on the section 4 assault charge and suspended the final two years.

He also backdated the sentence to December 22 last — the date when Fox was arrested after he was extradited on a European Police warrant from Glasgow where he now lives.