Jivan Dean, 24, attacked an acquaintance with the corrosive substance while believing he had been speaking with his girlfriend at an off-grid eco-retreat in Carmarthenshire
A jealous boyfriend blinded and disfigured an acquaintance at an eco commune while mistakenly believing he had been speaking to his girlfriend.
Jivian Dean, 24, threw sodium hydroxide in the face of 21-year-old Raven Riley in a horror revenge attack carried out at an off-grid community in Wales. Riley was left permanently disfigured after Dean mixed a liquid containing the compound – also known as lye and caustic soda – on a hob and hurled it at him while he was sitting down in his home.
The two were at a property in the Tipi Valley, Carmarthenshire, an off-grid eco-community founded in 1976 near the village of Llandeilo, at the time of the attack, which a court heard left Riley blinded and with burns to his face, head, neck and chest. Dean has now been jailed for 15 years after his own lawyers admitted he had an “immature response” to a perceived “slight”.
Swansea Crown Court heard that Dean was seen heating up a liquid in a pan on a hob before hurling it in the face of Mr Riley while he was sitting in a chair at the Tipi Valley property. Prosecutor Carina Hughes said the defendant had previously told people he suspected Mr Riley and his girlfriend had been having “some form of contact”.
She said: “It is clear from the evidence of Raven Riley that he had only met the defendant’s girlfriend on one occasion whilst in the company of the defendant. Just prior to this incident the defendant was seen at the hob in the kitchen stirring something in a pot. It was about 30 minutes after the defendant arrived and while Raven Riley was sitting alone in the living room that the defendant walked towards Raven and from a distance of about four to five feet while holding a pan threw the very hot liquid contents towards Raven Riley.
“As he threw it, he stated ‘stay away from my girlfriend. Raven Riley immediately felt he was burning, and he was screaming. and he pulled off his clothing and ran about trying to find a tap. He managed to run out of the property and was heard shouting ‘help, help, it burns, I cannot see’.”
People nearby went to his assistance, noting his white, opaque eyes, and he was taken to hospital for treatment. The court heard Mr Riley can now see only blurred shapes and requires help with everyday tasks. In a victim impact statement, Mr Riley said his life was in “limbo” and he now had to use eye drops every three hours.
He said: “I am now reliant on others and was completely independent before the incident. It upsets me as my independence has been cruelly taken away from me in such a horrific way. I have nightmares most nights, regarding the incident – they keep me awake – and I have an awful sleeping pattern because of this, the nightmares do not stop. I used to have long, curly hair before the incident.
“That will not be something I will ever be able to have again, another thing that has been taken away from me. My eyesight has not returned, and I cannot see properly. I do not know whether my eyesight will improve, I am still hopeful. Because of Jivan my life will no longer be the same. He can still see, I cannot. His actions were reckless, and they’ve turned my life upside down.”
Richard Ace, defending, said the attack was an “immature response” to a “slight”.
Dean, of no fixed address, had previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and causing a dangerous or noxious thing to be received with intent to burn. Passing sentence, Judge Geraint Walters said he had concluded Dean was dangerous and passed an extended sentence of 15 years’ custody with another four years on licence.
He said: “The wickedness of this goes beyond most reasoning. It follows from everything that I’ve heard about you and read about you that you have not shown any remorse whatsoever from what you did, none at all.”
