East London teenager given eight years and three months for acid attack
Tara Quigley, 28, suffered serious burns to her face and body in the attack and has undergone two skin grafts.
The teenager, who can now be named as Liam Robert Sibbons after Judge David Radford lifted a reporting restriction, sprayed a solution of chromic acid at her after she answered the door to him at her home in Romford, east London , in April.
Sibbons had admitted throwing corrosive fluid at a person with intent to do grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.
Radford said the teenager would serve six years and three months of the sentence in custody and the remaining two years on licence.
Martin Whitehouse, for the prosecution, told Snaresbrook crown court: "This was an horrific attack, involving a degree of brutality and callousness rarely encountered, almost, one might say, beyond comprehension."
Quigley, who did not know the teenager, has been left permanently scarred. She suffered burns to 7% of her body, including her right arm, forearm, shoulder, chest, neck and face.
Most of the burns went almost all the way through the skin. She will need regular treatment over the next four years and is due another operation shortly.
Whitehouse said Quigley had been waiting for someone to deliver cannabis on the evening of 30 April when she saw someone approaching the house.
When she opened the door, she was asked if she was called Michelle. When she said no, Sibbons walked off – but there was a loud knock on the door 10 minutes later.
The prosecutor said: "Miss Quigley opened the front door and saw the same man. He was holding onto a white bottle with both hands.
"He then pointed the bottle at Miss Quigley and squeezed. Miss Quigley felt liquid come into contact with her skin, followed almost immediately by a burning sensation.
"The man remained where he was, Miss Quigley shut the door and began to scream. She ran to the kitchen and splashed water on her face."
Quigley was in court to see her attacker jailed and wept as details were read out. In a victim impact statement, she had previously said: "The attack has left me feeling as though my life has been blown apart.
"I have been left both physically and emotionally scarred, and am in constant pain and discomfort owing to burns on my face, chest and arms."
Quigley now has limited mobility in her leg, for which she is undergoing physiotherapy, and has been told the skin grafts have only been 85% successful.
"I have lost confidence in my physical appearance and feel that people will stare at me when they see the scars," she said, describing the aftermath of the attack as "crushingly stressful".
Howard Cohen, for the defence, admitted that the actions of his client that night could be described as "evil".
Cohen said Sibbons has no memory of how he came to be at Quigley's house that evening. The judge, however, said a large amount of money had been found after the teenager was arrested, adding: "Another view could be that he was paid to undertake this."
Source: THE GUARDIAN
