Description
A sex offender left a fellow inmate with a broken cheekbone and in need of surgery after attacking him behind bars. John Reynolds subjected his victim to a series of "sucker punches" without warning while the two men were serving time at Walton prison.
The serial flasher was then freed from jail, but began drinking two bottles of vodka a day "with a side of cocaine". A judge today compared him to a "runaway mine train".
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Tuesday, that Reynolds was handed an eight-week sentence for a public order offence in March this year and sent to HMP Liverpool. CCTV footage then captured the moment he approached fellow prisoner James Butterworth from behind at around 5.30pm on April and punched him three to four times to the right hand side of the head in an "unprovoked attack".
Rachel Oakdene, prosecuting, described how the 38-year-old, of no fixed address, was then "dragged away" following the "very short lived" assault. The complainant attended Aintree Hospital in the aftermath and was found to have suffered multiple fractures to his cheekbone which required surgery.
Reynolds was subsequently released from prison shortly after the incident and began residing in a hostel. However, he was then evicted from these premises on August 22.
His criminal record shows previous entries for wounding, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault, harassment and breaching court orders. Reynolds was also locked up for 16 months for sexual assault and exposure in 2011, handed a four-month imprisonment suspended for two years for exposure in 2013 and sentenced to a further six months in December 2022, 17 weeks in November 2023 and 12 weeks in December 2023 - with all three of these convictions being for exposure.
This means that he remains subject to notification requirements obliging him to keep the police informed of his current address. But the "high risk sex offender" failed to disclose the fact that he had been made homeless to the force, placing him in breach of the terms of the register.
Emily Land, defending, told the court: "It appears that he is genuinely remorseful. He knows what the outcome is. Your honour has seen the explanation provided by the defendant.
"It is not a reasonable explanation, regardless of what had happened. It was a short lived attack. There were multiple blows, but in a very short period of time. He is immediately dragged away.
"He has been plagued by alcohol addiction, drinking two bottles of vodka a day with a side of cocaine. That was only made worse by the fact that his mother passed away in 2021.
"It was close to her birthday, which has caused a significant spiral at the point where he had been evicted from his accommodation. He found himself homeless and consuming alcohol, to the point where he failed to remember his requirement to go to the police station to let them know.
"As a consequence, he has now found himself back in prison when he had stable accommodation. He knows he has squandered that opportunity.
"He can use this opportunity now he is back in custody to get himself off the current track that his life appears to be on. He knows that he is the only one who can make that change in his life. If he does not do that, he is going to continue to be in front of these courts."
Reynolds admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and failing to comply with notification requirements. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for two years.
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Shepherd said: "It is quite clear that there were issues between you and the other prisoner. Whatever those issues were, and they might have been things which were causing you distress, what you could not do without consequence was resort to violence to try to deal with the situation.
"You are somebody not unknown to the court by any means. You knew what you were doing that day and you did deliver a sucker punch, more than one.
"Offences in custody are more serious because they undermine the fundamental need for control and order to maintain the safety of prisoners and staff that work in that environment. You put all of that at risk by your actions."
Recorder Shepherd added of Reynolds' notification requirements: "These requirements have been in place for a long time. You will have been aware of your responsibilities.
"While it is extremely unfortunate, you are somebody who, at times of adversity, will self destruct and end up drinking vast quantities of alcohol on a daily basis and consuming drugs. You ended up losing your accommodation as a result of that. That placed the public at risk because when you are drinking to excess, when you are on drugs and when you are homeless, you are like a runaway mine train."