Griffith Prosser (Image: South Wales Police)
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A 56-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after he struck his neighbour in the face with a glass jar during an unprovoked attack at her home in Merthyr Tydfil.
Sentencing
Griffith Prosser, of Chapel Close, Pentrebach, appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to wounding and inflicting grievous bodily harm. Recorder Paul Lewis KC handed him the custodial term.
The court heard Prosser has previous convictions, though the most recent was 16 years ago. His defence barrister, Andrew Kendal, told the court that Prosser had stayed out of trouble during that period and had been experiencing psychosis brought on by illicit substance use at the time of the offence.
The assault
Earlier on October 5 last year, the victim had visited Prosser’s address to ask about purchasing a pair of blinds from him. Prosser told her he had destroyed the blinds and she left. However, the court heard he felt “annoyed and angered” by the interaction.
At around 10pm that evening, Prosser went to the victim’s home carrying a glass jar. He approached her in her garden and told her he would not be intimidated by her. When she responded that she had never intended to intimidate him, Prosser struck her in the face with the jar without warning, smashing it and leaving her with multiple cuts.
Injuries
The victim was taken to the accident and emergency department at Prince Charles Hospital, where she was drifting in and out of consciousness. Medical staff found she had sustained multiple wounds to the left side of her forehead, the top of her forehead, and her nose. Two of the injuries needed sutures.
The arrest
Prosser was arrested the following day on suspicion of assault. When officers arrived, he replied: “To whom? I haven’t been out of here.”
Victim’s statement
Prosecutor Nik Strobl read a victim personal statement to the court in which the woman described the devastating effect the assault had on her life. She said:
“I moved to Merthyr Tydfil as I struggled with anxiety for a long time and wanted to move somewhere relatively quiet as I thought it would help me with my anxiety. I hadn’t been there for a month when I was assaulted by my neighbour which I never expected.
“It was a total shock to me, I had no personal involvement with him until the day of the assault when I attended his address hours before I was assaulted to make enquiries about buying blinds from him. I couldn’t understand how this brief interaction which was non confrontational could have led to this vicious assault just hours later.
“I struggled to come to terms with what happened and it affected me beyond measure. It had a massive impact on my relationship with my mother who has since passed away. My mother begged me to move back in with her because she worried about me a lot. I didn’t want to do that because I wanted to be independent but I struggled to stay in my property, following the assault I was not coping well at all.
“I attempted suicide and was referred to the crisis department team at Prince Charles Hospital. It had a profound effect on my mother’s health and it made her worse due to her worrying about me. That is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life, my mother had to see me going through this until she passed away which is something I didn’t want for her.”
