A THUG, who attacked a transgender woman on her very first outing since transitioning, ran from the scene and straight into a lamp post knocking himself out cold.

The police and ambulance had been called for the 18-year-old victim, who had been smashed in the face with a beer glass, but finding that her assailant Robert Eaton was passing in and out of consciousness they instead took him to hospital.

Meanwhile the victim was taken by her friends to hospital where she had a CT scan of her skull and x-rays to his chest and head. She had had a tooth knocked out, another was broken and had to be extracted and a third one was damaged.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that five months on she still has a significant gap in her teeth as the two implants she needs would require a bone graft and her self-confidence has been shattered.

In an impact statement she said: “I feel it was a targeted attack due to me being transgender and wearing female clothing.”

Her dental injuries had caused extreme pain and she had been unable to eat or drink for some time and ended up in hospital on a drip.

She said she had only recently had the courage to dress as she wanted to dress.

Wirral Globe: The crime scene following the attack on a transgender man (pic: Steve Craddock) The crime scene following the attack on a transgender man (pic: Steve Craddock) (Image: Steve Craddock)

“Now I feel lie I can never do that again. I feel I was targeted for being myself and my self-confidence had been shattered," she added.

The woman, who had been training for a pharmacy apprenticeship, said: “People should be able to live their life without fear of being violently assaulted.”

She said it was the first time she had gone out in feminine clothes but now dresses “as society expects me to dress. No amount of money can repair the psychological damage inflicted on me in such a cruel manner. I hardly go out now.”

She has put her transition on indefinite hold and said: “I feel trapped in my own skin, that is why I was trying to transition. I never in a million years thought it would be like this……We should not be penalised for being different.”

23-year-old Eaton only has one previous conviction but it was for wounding, involving stabbing his father twice in the back with a knife after a row, and a judge has now ruled that he is a dangerous offender.

Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, sentenced him to four years nine months imprisonment and imposed an extended three year licence.

He said: “You were full of alcohol, cocaine and cannabis and you behaved in a way I am prepared to accept that you may not have behaved in if not affected by drink and drugs. But you were and you behaved in an appalling way.”

David Watson, prosecuting, had told the court that the incident happened about 1 am on May 1 this year after the victim, her friends and siblings left the Prenton Park pub in Tranmere after an evening socialising.

Eaton approached her and hit her in the face with his glass knocking her to the ground and causing her to lose consciousness, coming round back in the pub with people around her.

The court heard that Eaton had earlier been described as acting in a “strange, bizarre manner" and coming over to sit at their table without speaking.

Judge Flewitt said: “You repeatedly stared at him (her), looking him (her) up and down making him (her) feel uncomfortable and I am entirely satisfied, and you accept, that the hostility you showed towards him (her) was a direct consequence of his (her) transgender identity and that is a serious aggravating feature in this case.”

He pointed out, “We live in a civilised and tolerant society and he (she) was entitled to expect that he (she) would be left alone to enjoy his (her) evening.”

The judge imposed a ten year restraining order on Eaton to keep away from his victim.

The defendant, of Woodchurch Road, Oxton, had pleaded guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent

John Weate, defending, said Eaton, who initially pleaded not guilty, had changed his plea “as he feels real shame for his actions.”

He said Eaton accepted his behaviour had been disgraceful while under the influence of alcohol, cocaine and cannabis. He had a troubled background and had lost his mum when he was 13.

Mr Weate said he was intelligent, obtaining three A levels and vocational qualifications, but lacks maturity. He had never served a jail term before and was “knuckling down” with a “change, grow and live” project.