Thug broke Risley prison officer’s jaw in row over flip flops

Rory Payne broke his victim’s jaw in a sickening assault that saw him ‘rain blows’ on the officer as he lay on the ground.

The 26-year-old ‘lost it’ after being told he could not go to another room while wearing flip flops.

He was subsequently charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm, and he appeared via videolink from prison to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, January 13.

Chris Taylor, prosecuting, explained how the victim in the case was a prison officer working at HM Prison Risley on January 5 last year.

The defendant was a serving prisoner, and at around 9.15am that day, he was witnessed on CCTV attempting to go to another room wearing flip flops – against prison rules.

The officer spoke to him and told him that he would have to change his footwear for trainers to move from room-to-room.

Payne’s reaction was to become verbally abusive, saying: “You can’t speak to me like that.”

He then launched into an expletive-laden rant towards the officer, who told him to return to his cell and tried to ‘usher him using minimal force’.

The officer then felt a sharp pain to his jaw and became unsteady on his feet. Everything went black, and the next thing he remembered was being dragged to the medical office by a colleague.

The victim said he was in an ‘immense’ amount of pain and could not open his jaw. He was taken to Warrington Hospital, with a CT scan revealing his jaw was fractured.

Thankfully, no surgery was required, however he also suffered injuries to his shoulder and calf.

In the aftermath of the attack, he described his situation like having been in a car crash, while he also struggled to sleep.

He was given occupational therapy and paced on medication, eventually returning to full duties after six months.

The defendant gave no comment during his police interview, despite the whole incident being captured on CCTV.

Rory Payne was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court

Footage was played in court showing Payne’s punch to knock the officer down, as well as him ‘raining blows’ on him while he was on the ground.

Payne was in prison on recall after being released three months earlier following a sentence of imprisonment for a firearm possession offence.

On his release, he was placed in a probation hostel with registered sex offenders and left.

The court heard how he has 16 previous convictions for 25 offences, including previous assaults on police officers.

In defence of her client, Katy Appleton said: “The defendant is fully aware of the serious nature of the offence and that it attracts immediate imprisonment.

“He accepts through his guilty plea responsibility for his actions, for which he is remorseful.”

She added that Payne had no formal qualifications from school after leaving before his exams started, but while in custody he has earned qualifications and hopes to complete further courses.

The defendant also wrote a letter to the court, in which he commented: “I am truly sorry for what I have done.

“I felt provoked, pushed, belittled and antagonised and felt the need to defend myself, but I know I went too far, it was wrong and there is no justification.

“I lost control, it was fight of flight, and I am sorry for the officer’s pain. My intention was never to hurt the officer, let alone fracture his jaw.”

Before sentencing, judge Sarah-Jane Griffiths remarked: “I accept that you are taking advantage of being in custody, and I am pleased to hear what you are doing about that, that prison is not where you want to be and that you want to turn your life around.

“You are where you are because of your offending, but I hope you mean what you say. Time will tell.

“I accept you are sorry and show remorse, however in your letter you are still blaming the victim, and there is some minimisation of what you did.”

Payne, now of HM Prison Ranby in Nottinghamshire, was sentenced to 24 months in prison

Judge Griffiths also ordered that a £156 surcharge, which normally goes into a pot for victim services, be paid directly to the victim.