Bouncer rapped by
judge
A BOUNCER "took
advantage of his position" when he
assaulted his girlfriend's
ex-boyfriend while on duty at a
Chesterfield nightclub, a judge has
ruled.
Chris Sims (21), of
Rectory Road, Duckmanton, denied beating
Daniel Mann at Escapade, on March 9, but
was found guilty of the offence after a
day-long trial at Chesterfield
Magistrates' Court, on Monday.
The court heard that Daniel was on the
dance floor with a group of friends,
which included his ex, Jessica Iddon,
who was Sims' girlfriend at the time.
Tragically, Jessica died just three
months later, in June, following a road
accident in which she was the passenger
in a car being driven by Sims.
Daniel (17) said he and friend, Darren
Bradbury, left the dance floor and were
walking towards the toilets when Sims
approached, adding: "He grabbed me by
the shirt and chucked me down the
corridor. He was shouting 'get out, get
out'."
When Daniel asked why, he said Sims said
"you know why", before punching him in
the left eye – causing his head to hit
the wall – and throwing him out of a
fire door.
But Sims said another unidentified male
punched Daniel, and he ejected the
latter. He said: "I stepped in to
separate them, and grabbed the person
nearest to me and threw him out of the
building."
District Judge John Friel said he
disbelieved the defendant's account and
found him guilty of assault.
Julie Page, mitigating, said Sims'
behaviour was "extremely out of
character." She said her client has
since been through a very difficult time
and was struggling to come to terms with
the death of his girlfriend.
Sentencing Sims – who no longer works at
Escapade – on Tuesday, Mr Friel said:
"When a doorman takes advantage of his
position to assault a member of the
public who had done absolutely nothing
wrong, it seems to me that it is bound
to attract a custodial sentence."
He was sentenced to a three-month jail
term suspended for a year, 100 hours of
unpaid work, and a three-month curfew.
He was ordered to pay £200 compensation
to Daniel Mann and £450 court costs.
