Bar victim traces attacker on Facebook
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
A woman who was glassed in a nightclub turned detective on social networking site Facebook, helping police to catch her attacker, it was revealed today.
Jennifer Wilson, 20, was injured in an attack by Ashleigh Holliman, 22, in the Walkabout bar in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the early hours of Saturday 21 March.
But by the time police officers came to visit her after she was released from hospital later that day Miss Wilson had tracked down her assailant via Facebook, having recognised one of her friends.
Since then, Holliman has appeared in court charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
After previously pleading guilty Holliman, of Fuller Way, Croxley Green, Herts, was sentenced to 120 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £2,400 compensation at St Albans Crown Court last week. She was also ordered to pay costs of £200, a court spokeswoman confirmed.
Miss Wilson, from Oxhey in Hertfordshire, told the Daily Mail online: "This girl had just been glaring at me all night long and then all of a sudden I was dancing with friends and she slammed the glass into my face.
"I remember putting my hand up to my face because of the pain. When I pulled it away I realised she had really hurt me - there was blood shooting from the wound.
"She managed to escape but I recognised one of her friends and decided to try and track her down because I didn't deserve what she did to me."
A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokeswoman said: "Police were called 2.10am on Saturday March 21 to reports that a 20-year-old girl had been assaulted at Walkabout bar in Watford Town Centre.
"The incident had happened at 12.45am that morning and the victim said she thought she knew who it was.
"She requested police go to see her after 9am later that day, once she was out of hospital.
"Officers did this. Prior to police attendance the victim had made enquiries of her own and tracked down the offender on Facebook. She passed this information on to officers.
"Meanwhile officers also conducted other investigations of the offence, including viewing CCTV at the bar and identifying witnesses who we interviewed.
"Officers followed up the lead of the named person and other leads before arresting a woman on April 1."