Three sisters and their friend have been sentenced for a brutal, unprovoked attack on a woman, leaving her with life-changing injuries.
The group, from Scarborough, beat the woman in her 50s unconscious on 28 October 2023.
Toni Lee Patterson, 32, of Cross Street, received the longest sentence at York Crown Court yesterday (Friday). She was jailed for eight years.
Ellie Patterson, 20, of Springfield Road, was sentenced to seven years and three months in a Young Offenders Institute, while their sister, Abbie Patterson, 19, of Springfield Road, received a suspended sentence.
Their friend, Tonia Louise Stott, 35, of Cross Street, was jailed for one year.
All four women pleaded guilty to affray, and Toni and Ellie Patterson also pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The victim, who was out enjoying an evening in Scarborough, was set upon by the four women.
She was not known to the defendants and had just bought food from a nearby takeaway when the attack occurred on St Thomas Street.
The four women had earlier been refused entry to a nearby bar and had been abusive to the doormen before turning their attention to the victim.
Ellie Patterson was the first to approach the victim, before punching her in the face, grabbing her hair and dragging her across the pavement.
Toni Patterson then joined in, grabbing hold of the victim’s hair, before the pair dragged her towards the road where she fell into the carriageway as a friend tried to protect her.
Ellie Patterson then kicked the victim in her back while she lay helpless on the road.
Toni Patterson stamped on the victim’s head twice and kicked her in the face as Abbie Patterson stood over the victim’s motionless body.
A crowd began to form and some members of the public attempted to protect the victim.
Toni Patterson then pushed through the crowd and once again kicked the unconscious victim in the head.
Stott, who had not been involved up until this point other than the initial disturbance with the doormen, pushed her way through the crowd and began shoving people aside.
As the victim tried to raise her head off the floor, appearing dazed, Toni Patterson again kicked her in the head with full force. Ellie Patterson then kicked the victim to the body.
A mass brawl developed, and as witnesses tried to give first aid to the victim, Stott pushed through the crowd and kicked the victim in her back.
Despite attempts by door staff to restrain her, she repeatedly kicked out and spat at the door staff.
The victim was taken to hospital for treatment to a facial fracture and a bleed on her brain.
Already blind in her left eye, the attack left her partially sighted in her right eye.
Investigating officer, Police Staff Investigator Paul Thompson, of Scarborough CID, said, “This shocking and unprovoked attack has changed the victim’s life forever, not only has she lost most of her sight, she has to rely on her family to do the most simplest of tasks.
“The four defendants had the audacity to claim it was out of character because they were drunk. There is simply no excuse whatsoever for what they did and the very least they could do was to plead guilty to this disgusting act of unprovoked violence.
“In a statement read out at court the victim said that she daily grieves for the ‘old me’ that she will never see again and that she doesn’t know what the future holds for her and misses being able to do the basic things she once took for granted.
“I applaud her bravery. She must now face the future almost blind, not to mention the psychological trauma she has endured through no fault of her own. But she has the support of those around her and I’m sure she will succeed, despite the ordeal that she has gone through.
“The four women are now rightly facing the consequences of their behaviour.”
The victim praised the emergency services in her statement, giving thanks to the police, ambulance service, the hospital, specialists and nursing staff who helped her through “the worst” time of her life.