Sunderland thug who tried to murder brother freed despite leaving new victim with brain injury
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA violent thug with a previous conviction for attempting to murder his brother has been freed despite leaving another victim with life-changing brain injuries.
Callum Creighton was jailed for 12 years in 2012 for trying to kill his sibling and wounding another man with intent. But just three months after his licence for that offence expired, he took part in a street attack on a man which has ruined his life.
Creighton was originally charged with GBH with intent after the incident but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser offence of GBH. Now he has been sentenced to 20 months prison at Newcastle Crown Court but was told he will be freed immediately, having served 11 months on remand.
The attack happened in Sunderland on November 12 last year but the victim has no memory of it. CCTV shows a large group walking towards the camera then out of sight and three of them returned.
Another man threw a punch at the victim, causing him to fall to the ground. Creighton was then seen to throw his ring towards the man. He then dragged him and the victim flopped back to the floor before getting up.
Creighton was then seen looking for his ring before punching the man forcefully, sending him falling to the ground, where he struck his head on the pavement. Creighton then resumed looking for his ring, paying no heed to the stricken man, who was left unconscious.
He was put in the recovery position by a passer-by but was unresponsive and his eyes were pointing in opposite directions and he was described as having a "soggy mass" on the back of his head.
The court heard the victim was left with a brain injury which he said has had a huge effect on his memory. He suffered bleeding around the brain, a double skull fracture, was in hospital for five to six weeks, his eyes would not focus together, he suffered dizziness if one of them was not covered up, he lost a tooth and was left with pain in his neck and back.
In a victim impact statement, he said the attack has "completely changed my life", adding: "My brain will never be the same again.
"It's affected my mental health massively, I'm scared to go out alone. I've lost my brain forever and also my eyesight.
"I've been told I will never work again. I will never return to the person I was before I was assaulted.
"I've never hurt anyone in my life and I don't know why anyone would assault me in such a way." He said he was also left needing braces and splints to help with spinal issues.
Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter
The court heard Creighton, 32, of Cramlington Square, Sunderland, has three previous convictions, including for the attempted murder of his brother and wounding with intent on another man, for which he was jailed for 12 years in 2012. His licence period for that offence expired in August last year and he has been recalled to prison twice, the court heard.
At the time of the latest offence, he was on bail for allegations which were later dropped.
Mr Recorder Wheeler jailed him for 20 months but told him he will be released immediately, having served 11 months on remand. He also has to pay £2,500 compensation.
The judge told him: "His injuries have been truly life-changing, they impacted on him massively." He said it was unclear if that was as a result of Creighton's punch or a combination of that and the violence inflicted by the other attacker. But he added: "This man was vulnerable. You delivered a forceful blow when he was unable to protect himself."
Vic Laffey, defending, said the other man who assaulted the victim was only charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which he labelled a "bizarre" decision. He was given a community order.
He added that Creighton "has expressed extreme remorse for what happened".
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community