Man jailed for knife attack on teenager (From Penarth Times)

Man jailed for knife attack on teenager

A FATHER-OF-TWO has been jailed for four years for slashing a 16-year-old boy across the face with a knife in a late-night fight.

Geoffrey Lee Hosken, aged 23, of Salisbury Close, Barry, pleaded guilty to wounding and possession of an offensive weapon, and was found guilty of assaulting a police officer on an earlier occasion.

The court heard how Hosken, after a night of heavy drinking with his girlfriend, became involved in a confrontation with another group of youths near the Blockbuster store on the corner of Hickman Road and Windsor Road in Penarth town centre on May 14, 2005.

The confrontation escalated into a fight in which a 16-year-old boy was slashed across the face by Hosken with a Swiss army knife.

Sentencing, Recorder David Aubrey QC told Hosken: "Blows were exchanged and at a certain stage you reached for your back pocket, took out a knife and slashed his face with it.

"The complainant was left with a laceration a small distance away from his eye. The laceration extended down his cheek, through his bottom lip and onto his chin."

After a trial earlier this year Hosken was also found guilty of assaulting a police officer attempting to arrest him following a domestic incident.

David Aubrey QC told the court how Hosken was hiding in the attic of his home when police officers arrived to arrest him on April 18.

He said Hosken lunged at one of the officers with an implement, causing his arm to bleed profusely, when he was found hiding behind insulation material in the attic.

The court heard how Hosken pushed the other officer, causing him to fall through the ceiling of the attic.

John Hunter, defending, told the court that violence and aggression between Hosken"s parents had become very much the norm and he had transposed that into his own adult life.

Hunter said that Hosken accepted that he needed assistance in dealing with his problems.

David Aubrey QC told Hosken: "It may well be that in the past you saw some form of violence between your parents, but you should have learned from this not replicated it.

"The offences committed are so serious that only a custodial sentence can be given. I believe there is a high risk of you reoffending and that you pose a real risk of harm to others."

Hosken had 11 previous convictions for a string of offences including actual bodily harm, common assault, drunk and disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest.