Beaten to a Pulp: Face of the Father Left Unrecognisable by Gang of Robbers Who Stole His Wedding Ring
Gavin Allen, Daily Mail (London), October 27, 2011
A father-of-three was beaten to a bloody pulp by a gang of as many as 15 thugs who stole his wedding ring and mobile phone.
Joseph Frederic, 38, was punched to the ground before the gang repeatedly kicked him and stamped on his head.
Mr Frederic, who was visiting from France, had attended a family friend’s birthday party near the Centaur Social Club in Langley Green, Crawley.
The social club had not hosted the party, but at around 2am Mr Frederic went outside to look for his wife and was set upon by the gang in the club’s car park.
After the attack the gang fled and a local resident said the gang had a taxi waiting for them.
Mr Joseph, who is French Mauritian, was taken to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead for surgery to repair a series of facial fractures.
Because of the extent of his injuries he was not allowed to fly home and instead had to return by Eurostar.
He is recovering well from the attack and is now able to speak and eat again as his horrific facial swelling begins to recede.
Mr Frederic’s friend Sylvio Lynx, 57, said the attack took place around 40 minutes after his son’s 18th birthday party had ended on Sunday, October 16.
‘He went outside because he was looking for his wife,’ said Mr Lynx.
‘They took his ring, his necklace and his phone. He could not see the attackers because it was dark. He cannot describe the faces of those who did it.’
The only description Mr Frederic was able to offer police is that he believes all the attackers were black.
Detective Constable Mike George said: ‘This was an attack on a man visiting this country.
‘The consultant treating him described his injuries as some of the worst she had seen from an assault.’
