A man who knocked out a young woman in a busy Nottingham street was caught following a media appeal.
Nottinghamshire Police issued an image of a suspect following the incident in Milton Street in the early hours of 30 March last year.
Numerous people came forward to say the man in the image was 19-year-old Cameron Parry and he handed himself in two days later.
He went on to be charged after CCTV captured him punching the woman to the ground following an altercation that went on for 5-10 minutes.
The victim, who is the same age as Parry, fell unconscious and hospital tests found she had a small bleed on the brain.
Parry, now 20, of Lechlade Road, Bestwood, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday (3 January).
Recorder James Willan KC heard the altercation began when the victim, who was with two friends, exchanged angry words with Parry in Goldsmith Street, outside Nottingham Theatre Royal.
The pair did not know each other, but the victim said the argument began after Parry hurled insults at her as he walked past.
The young woman confronted Parry before filming him on her mobile phone. Parry then knocked the phone out of her hand, before picking it up and throwing it on the nearby tram track.
This infuriated the woman further, so she followed him as Parry tried to leave the scene.
CCTV shows Parry twice shove her in Forman Street, including once to the ground, before continuing into Milton Street.
As he went to get into a taxi, the woman tried to hit him – prompting Parry to punch her several times in the face. This caused her to fall backwards and hit her head on the pavement, knocking her unconscious.
Thankfully her condition was not life-altering or life-threatening – although she continues to suffer emotionally and mentally from the assault.
The court heard Parry had no previous convictions and was subsequently given a three-month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.
As part of his sentence, he must comply with a six-month curfew and will be electronically monitored to ensure he stays home between 9pm and 6am.
He must also pay his victim £1,000 compensation.
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Simon Carter, who oversaw the investigation, said:
“There can be no excuse whatsoever for violent conduct such as this.
“Had Parry not thrown the victim’s phone, it’s likely the confrontation would have ended sooner than it did and with no-one getting hurt.
“Instead, he inflamed the situation and ended up launching a vicious assault on a woman who was far smaller than him and had no real hope of defending herself.
“The CCTV footage of the incident shows him striking her hard in the face, causing her to fall backwards on the pavement.
“As we have seen in other cases in the past, the consequences of that fall could have been far more serious and resulted in an extremely serious injury.
“By his own admission Parry lost control of himself that night and lashed out at his victim. As this case demonstrates, anyone behaving in a similar way should also expect to end up before the courts.
“Finally, I’d like to thank the public for their help with our appeal, which helped our investigation to progress.”
