- Chris Van Niekerk gave Neil Child fractured eye socket, broken nose and fractured ribs after 'horrific' beating
Chris Van Niekerk left his friend and fellow mechanic Neil Child, with a broken nose, shattered eye socket and fractured ribs after finding him in his estranged wife Linsey’s bedroom.
Van Niekerk, 34, claims he saw Mr Child having sex with his wife of 12 years. He became suspicious after spotting a work van in her drive and had peered through a window.
However, 37-year-old Mr Child, a married father himself, denied sleeping with his workmate’s wife.
RAC patrolman Chris Van Niekerk, left, attacked
colleague Neil Child after he saw him on the bed with his estranged
wife, Lindsay, right
He
says the mother-of-three had become upset when he stopped by to pick up
a birthday gift she had for him and he was merely ‘comforting’ her when
the pair happened to fall on to the bed.
The prolonged assault began in the bedroom of Mrs Van Niekerk’s £425,000 bungalow – where she had been living during a trial separation from her husband – and spilled on to the street, Winchester Crown Court heard.
Judge Keith Cutler said although the pair may have been on the bed there was no evidence of sexual activity.
Prosecutor Rebecca Austin said the Van Niekerks, who have three children together, were separated at the time of the attack, March 16 this year.
They were living less than a mile from each other in the leafy village of Sherfield-on-Loddon, near Basingstoke.
Mr Child and his wife Sharon became friends with the couple when Van Niekerk joined the RAC eight years ago. The families would often socialise and once went on a camping trip in Norfolk together.
On the night of the assault, Mr Child, who lives only minutes away from Mrs Van Niekerk in Bramley, had gone to her bungalow at her request to collect a birthday present but when he got there she became upset.
Miss Austin said: ‘In comforting her, they both fell on to the bed.
‘Mr Child then gave an account of being assaulted by the defendant and the attack caused him to lose consciousness. The attack continued outside and there were further punches to his head that caused him to fall on the floor.’
The court heard Mr Child managed to call the police just after midnight.
Van Niekerk, who had moved to the UK from South Africa 12 years ago, was arrested and admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In a police interview, Van Niekerk told officers he had been peering through the bedroom window and ‘acted out of rage’ after seeing his wife with Mr Child.
Richard Wheeler, defending, said Van Niekerk had gone to the bungalow because his employer was unsure of the location of Mr Child’s RAC van.
The defendant then attacked Mr Child out of ‘extreme provocation’, claiming that he had seen Mr Child have sex with his estranged wife, Mr Wheeler added.
However, Judge Cutler rejected this version of events and jailed Van Niekerk for 15 months. He said: ‘You accept that you were responsible for these injuries and on the face of it they appear quite horrific.
‘You came to the house
and saw what you believed was not an innocent contact between him and
your wife. Certainly, in your mind you were jealous and you lost your
temper.’
Mr Cutler said he took into account the seriousness of the injuries in imposing the length of prison term. Mr Child claims he still suffers nightmares because of the attack. His physical injuries have healed, however a damaged nerve below his right eye can still cause his face to twitch.
He said he has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and has been signed off from work. His wife Sharon is standing by him.
He said after the sentence: ‘I’m just pleased that it has come to an end now. I was not really that bothered with what sentence he got. I want us to get on with our lives.’
Mr Child said he found it difficult to understand why Van Niekerk attacked him. He said: ‘Linsey sent me a text to say I could pick up this present for me and my son as our birthdays had just passed. That’s all it was.
‘He was wound up and he thought he saw something that was untrue. Even if it was true, it does not give him the right to do that.’
Mr Child said his relationship with his wife had become strained because of the effect of the attack on his mental state.
A neighbour at the flats where Van Niekerk lived after splitting from his wife said he was ‘a devoted dad’ and added: ‘He seemed a really gentle guy and not somebody I would suspect of violence at all.’
The prolonged assault began in the bedroom of Mrs Van Niekerk’s £425,000 bungalow – where she had been living during a trial separation from her husband – and spilled on to the street, Winchester Crown Court heard.
Judge Keith Cutler said although the pair may have been on the bed there was no evidence of sexual activity.
Prosecutor Rebecca Austin said the Van Niekerks, who have three children together, were separated at the time of the attack, March 16 this year.
They were living less than a mile from each other in the leafy village of Sherfield-on-Loddon, near Basingstoke.
Mr Child and his wife Sharon became friends with the couple when Van Niekerk joined the RAC eight years ago. The families would often socialise and once went on a camping trip in Norfolk together.
On the night of the assault, Mr Child, who lives only minutes away from Mrs Van Niekerk in Bramley, had gone to her bungalow at her request to collect a birthday present but when he got there she became upset.
Miss Austin said: ‘In comforting her, they both fell on to the bed.
‘Mr Child then gave an account of being assaulted by the defendant and the attack caused him to lose consciousness. The attack continued outside and there were further punches to his head that caused him to fall on the floor.’
The court heard Mr Child managed to call the police just after midnight.
Van Niekerk, who had moved to the UK from South Africa 12 years ago, was arrested and admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In a police interview, Van Niekerk told officers he had been peering through the bedroom window and ‘acted out of rage’ after seeing his wife with Mr Child.
Richard Wheeler, defending, said Van Niekerk had gone to the bungalow because his employer was unsure of the location of Mr Child’s RAC van.
The defendant then attacked Mr Child out of ‘extreme provocation’, claiming that he had seen Mr Child have sex with his estranged wife, Mr Wheeler added.
However, Judge Cutler rejected this version of events and jailed Van Niekerk for 15 months. He said: ‘You accept that you were responsible for these injuries and on the face of it they appear quite horrific.
Recovering: Neil Child, pictured at home with wife Sharon, was beaten unconscious by colleague Chris Van Niekerk
Mr Cutler said he took into account the seriousness of the injuries in imposing the length of prison term. Mr Child claims he still suffers nightmares because of the attack. His physical injuries have healed, however a damaged nerve below his right eye can still cause his face to twitch.
He said he has also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and has been signed off from work. His wife Sharon is standing by him.
He said after the sentence: ‘I’m just pleased that it has come to an end now. I was not really that bothered with what sentence he got. I want us to get on with our lives.’
Mr Child said he found it difficult to understand why Van Niekerk attacked him. He said: ‘Linsey sent me a text to say I could pick up this present for me and my son as our birthdays had just passed. That’s all it was.
‘He was wound up and he thought he saw something that was untrue. Even if it was true, it does not give him the right to do that.’
Mr Child said his relationship with his wife had become strained because of the effect of the attack on his mental state.
A neighbour at the flats where Van Niekerk lived after splitting from his wife said he was ‘a devoted dad’ and added: ‘He seemed a really gentle guy and not somebody I would suspect of violence at all.’
Winchester Crown Court heard that Van Niekerk acted out of 'extreme provocation' when he carried out the 'horrific' attack
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