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03-02-2006, 12:29 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/01/biter.sentenced.ap/index.html
Face-biter gets 15 years in prison
Victim: 'The compassion and love I had in me was killed'
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; Posted: 1:56 p.m. EST (18:56 GMT)
WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) -- A man who bit off a piece of his girlfriend's cheek was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison after the victim told the judge that her injury was much more than physical.
"When I was bitten and my flesh was spat at me, more than my face was damaged," said Dorothy Pritchett of New Rochelle, New York, in a statement read by prosecutor Heide Mason.
"The compassion and love I had in me was killed," Pitchett's statement said. "My courage and self-esteem was taken away."
Gareth Whyte, 27, was convicted in January of first- and second-degree assault in the May 8 attack.
He could have been sentenced to as much as 25 years, but state Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler noted that Whyte had no previous felonies and that plastic surgery had repaired most of the disfigurement caused by the bite.
Whyte maintained his innocence throughout his trial.
About a year before the attack, Whyte had moved in with Pritchett, his co-worker at an auto repair shop, and her four children.
On May 8 -- Mother's Day -- their daylong argument spilled out onto the street outside their home.
Prosecutors said that as they argued, Whyte bit Pritchett under her left eye, cutting through nerves and muscle, then spat the chunk of flesh onto the sidewalk.
At the trial, Pritchett testified that she has more surgery ahead of her and still feels burning sensations and numbness in the area. The prosecutor held up a jar containing the flesh while urging the jury not to be fooled by the skillful plastic surgery.
On Wednesday, Pritchett's statement said she has not been out alone since the attack.
"People may think that 25 years in prison may be too long for the damage that was done to me but I'll be in this prison for the rest of my life," she said.
Copyright ©2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN.com-March 1, 2006
Face-biter gets 15 years in prison
Victim: 'The compassion and love I had in me was killed'
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; Posted: 1:56 p.m. EST (18:56 GMT)
WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) -- A man who bit off a piece of his girlfriend's cheek was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison after the victim told the judge that her injury was much more than physical.
"When I was bitten and my flesh was spat at me, more than my face was damaged," said Dorothy Pritchett of New Rochelle, New York, in a statement read by prosecutor Heide Mason.
"The compassion and love I had in me was killed," Pitchett's statement said. "My courage and self-esteem was taken away."
Gareth Whyte, 27, was convicted in January of first- and second-degree assault in the May 8 attack.
He could have been sentenced to as much as 25 years, but state Supreme Court Justice Lester Adler noted that Whyte had no previous felonies and that plastic surgery had repaired most of the disfigurement caused by the bite.
Whyte maintained his innocence throughout his trial.
About a year before the attack, Whyte had moved in with Pritchett, his co-worker at an auto repair shop, and her four children.
On May 8 -- Mother's Day -- their daylong argument spilled out onto the street outside their home.
Prosecutors said that as they argued, Whyte bit Pritchett under her left eye, cutting through nerves and muscle, then spat the chunk of flesh onto the sidewalk.
At the trial, Pritchett testified that she has more surgery ahead of her and still feels burning sensations and numbness in the area. The prosecutor held up a jar containing the flesh while urging the jury not to be fooled by the skillful plastic surgery.
On Wednesday, Pritchett's statement said she has not been out alone since the attack.
"People may think that 25 years in prison may be too long for the damage that was done to me but I'll be in this prison for the rest of my life," she said.
Copyright ©2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CNN.com-March 1, 2006