Southend: Man jailed after assaulting child

A man who seriously assaulted a child in a restaurant’s customer toilets in an unprovoked attack in Southend has been jailed for six years.

Liam Taylor 31, of Roseberry Gardens, London, N8, was sentenced to six years for causing GBH when he appeared at Basildon Combined Court on Thursday 25 May.

At an earlier hearing, Liam Taylor pleaded guilty to the assault that took place in KFC in the High Street at about 6.30pm on Thursday 20 October last year and he was further ordered to pay the victim £500 for the resulting facial injuries.

PC Matthew Howarth, who led the investigation, said:

“The assault was totally unprovoked and the level of violence aimed at the victim who was just 13 at the time, has left him devastated. He sustained a broken tooth, a deep cut which will leave a scar and a facial fracture, but, thankfully, he has the love and support of his family.
“The court has seen fit to punish Liam Taylor by imprisoning him so that he can’t assault anyone else in this cowardly way.”