Victoria Harbertson
Unlawful wounding *
Sentence
10 months suspended for two years with 150 hours unpaid work and an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement
In July 2023, Victoria Harbertson, appearing intoxicated, along with two other females, unlawfully entered the victim's home in Blyth without permission. Harbertson falsely accused the victim of sleeping with her boyfriend and giving him drugs. When the victim returned from a shop and tried to enter her home, the trio attacked her, punching her repeatedly to the head and face, kicking her in the back of the head after she fell to the ground, and hitting her over the forehead with a mug three times. The attack ended due to intervention by a man and others nearby. The victim suffered two lacerations to her forehead, a cut and swollen lip, head wounds requiring closure, a tender nose, and a headache, requiring hospital treatment. She reported feeling terrified, unsafe in her home, unable to go out alone, in pain, and with worsened mental health issues.
Pleaded guilty. No previous convictions. Judge Tom Moran commented on the drunken assault and intervention by others. Five-year restraining order imposed. Defendant is now drink and drug-free, ashamed, and has expressed remorse.