A chef who viciously attacked a lone woman as she walked home from a night out in Aberdeen city centre has been ordered to pay her compensation.
Damian Baranski, 36, knocked the woman – a total stranger – to the ground on Belmont Street before repeatedly punching her head and body.
Baranski, who is a father of three, had been out drinking that evening and claimed his victim had racially abused him.
Fiscal depute Jane Spark said the violent assault happened at around 4.15am on July 17 last year.
‘He repeatedly punched her to the head and body’
“The complainer was not known to him and she became engaged in a verbal disagreement with him,” she said.
“He thereafter ran at speed towards her causing her to fall to the ground before he repeatedly punched her to the head and body.
“He then ran away as she got to her feet.
“She noticed she had blood running down her face.”
Baranski’s 32-year-old victim suffered a one-inch laceration to her left eyebrow, which had to be glued shut in hospital.
His defence agent Neil McRobert said: “He indicates this was out of character for him and going by his record that appears to be the case.”
Baranski has previous convictions for drink-driving and drug-related matters.
‘He is entirely ashamed’
The solicitor added: “The complainer was unknown to him. She indicates in her police statement she had been on a night out and she was very drunk at the time.
“My client’s position is that she was racially abusing him and that, angered by the comments being made to him, he lashed out and acted in the manner libelled.
“That does not excuse his behaviour at all. He is entirely ashamed of his conduct, as he should be.”
Baranski pled guilty to an assault to injury charge.
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told him: “That fact that somebody was abusing you doesn’t justify the attack. Far from it. I am concerned about the violent nature of the attack.
“If you punch someone to the head so that they fall to the ground you have no idea what the outcome could be. It could be death or serious injury so you could be facing a much worse charge.”
She fined Baranski, of Kingsway, Bucksburn, £640 and ordered he pay his victim £150 in compensation.
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