Suspended term for GBH

A Spalding man who fractured a work colleague’s eye socket with a single punch was given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay his victim £500 compensation.
Tiberiu-Lucian Grozav (36) carried out an unprovoked attack on the victim after blacking out during a night of drinking in Spalding on August 25 last year.
Lincoln Crown Court heard the victim was walking on St John’s Road in Spalding towards Aldi at around 9.30pm when he became aware of someone behind him. He initially speeded-up but stopped to face the person behind him, the court was told.
Grozav accepted an offered lighter, but then punched the victim in the face causing him to stumble backwards.
Police were not called until August 31 when the victim became concerned about increased bruising to his face and difficulty eating. He attended Boston Pilgrim Hospital where it was confirmed he had suffered three fractures to bones around his right eye.
Grozav was arrested and said he knew the victim “by sight” from work.
During interview Grozav said he had blacked out on the night of the assault after alcohol he had been drinking mixed with his epilepsy medication.
In an impact statement read out in court, the victim described how he had suffered flashbacks and discomfort eating since the attack. He also lost a day’s pay due to the assault.
Grozav, of Lancelot Way, Spalding, admitted one charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm on August 25, 2023.
Rebecca Freitas, mitigating, told the court Grozav had been drinking in a Spalding bar on the night of assault, and could not remember what happened.
Miss Freitas said Grozav had now given up alcohol. The court heard Grozav had secured a place at the London College of Contemporary Arts to complete a management degree.
Passing sentence Judge Catarina Sjolin Knight told Grozav: “Your single punch caused three fractures around his right eye.”
But she said Grozav had demonstrated remorse and shame, and “all but stopped drinking.”
“It seems to me I am sentencing a different man today,” Judge Sjolin Knight added.
Grozav was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for 18 months. He must also complete a 120-day alcohol abstinence order and 80 hours of unpaid work, and was ordered to pay his victim £500 compensation.