A man who assaulted the father of the bride at a family wedding has avoided a prison sentence after he was “forgiven” by his victim.
Offshore worker Christopher Allison was a guest at the wedding in Dyce’s Marriott Hotel where he left his uncle with “life-threatening” injures after the two men got into an violent altercation when “jokey banter” turned sour.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the two men had been drinking heavily when Allison, who is the cousin of the bride, pushed his uncle who fell backwards and struck his head on the ground.
The 48-year-old victim was found unresponsive after sustaining a serious head injury.
Sentencing Allison, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told him the fact that his uncle had forgiven him over the assault was a “major factor” in her decision not to send him to prison.
She also told Allison to extend his gratitude to his cousin, the bride, who wrote a letter supporting him.
Christopher Allison was ‘agitated’
Fiscal depute David Ballock told the court at a previous hearing that at around 1pm on April 6 2019, Allison attended a wedding at the hotel along with a large number of family members.
It was stated that throughout the evening Allison and his victim consumed a large amount of alcohol.
At around 10.35pm, Allison then became “agitated” while in the hotel bar due to an ongoing family issue.
“Thereafter, an employee of the hotel was walking out of the function room when they observed the accused go through a set of double doors,” Mr Ballock said.
“The accused appeared startled and stated that the employee ‘better go through and see the complainer as he’s on the ground’.
“They went through followed by others where they saw the complainer lying on the ground with an injury to the back of his head.
“Other members of the wedding party attended and tried to rouse the complainer, without success.”
An ambulance was called, at which point Allison made a number of admissions to one of the family members, including that he had “pushed” the complainer away.
He then added that he “does not know what happened”.
Mr Ballock stated that Allison then made apologies that the “wedding had been ruined”.
Medics said injuries were ‘life-threatening
A member of the wedding party then took Allison away from the area to calm him down before he left the scene completely on his own.
Due to the extent of the father of the bride’s injuries, police then located Allison and cautioned and arrested him.
At Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Allison’s victim was found to have a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain and an abrasion to the back of his head.
His injuries were described as “life-threatening”.
Appearing in the dock, Allison pleaded guilty to one charge of assault to severe injury, permanent impairment and danger to life.
‘A tragic series of events’
Defence solicitor John Hardie told the court that prior to the assault the two men had a “close relationship” that was characterised by “teasing, jokey banter” that included “play fighting”.
He went on to say that both men were “significantly intoxicated at the time” while the two men were in a lobby area of the hotel.
“They had been having a joking exchange which very unfortunately for everyone turned into a more serious one,” Mr Hardie said.
“The complainer grabbed hold of his clothing and Mr Allison pushed him away – the confrontation itself is a minor one.
“At this point, the complainer persisted and, exasperated, Mr Allison pushed his uncle for the second time – this was done out of frustration.”
Mr Hardie said Allison’s victim then “appeared to trip over” and fell back striking his head on the ground.
“If either of them hadn’t been as drunk as they were none of this would have happened,” the solicitor added.
Mr Hardie also told the court that since the assault Allison’s uncle has almost made a full recovery and is able to work but was now “a slower speaker than he was previously”.
However, Mr Hardie was also at pains to point out that Allison’s victim has now “forgiven” his client for what occurred.
Sheriff McLaughlin described the wedding assault as a “tragic series of events” and the court case as “exceptional”.
“You have suffered and your uncle has suffered,” she said.
“He has forgiven you and that is a major factor in me reaching this decision.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff McLaughlin made Allison of Dubford Crescent, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order and ordered him to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.
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