Boy, 16, who threw acid at a woman on her doorstep leaving her with horrific burns is jailed for eight years

Tara Quigley, 28, had to undergo two skin grafts after the attack

Liam Robert Sibbons sprayed her with solution of chromic acid

Prosecutor says attack was one of 'brutality and callousness'

He will serve six years and three months in prison and two years on license



A 16-year-old boy who threw acid at a woman on her doorstep was sentenced to eight years and three months today.

Tara Quigley, 28, suffered horrific burns to her face and body in the attack and has undergone two skin grafts.

The teenager, who can now be named as Liam Robert Sibbons after Judge David Radford lifted a reporting restriction, sprayed a solution of chromic acid at her after she answered the door to him at her home in Romford, East London, in April.

Tara Quigley suffered injuries to her face and upper body in an acid attack on her doorstep in Romford, East London in April.



The substance is based on sulphuric acid and is strongly acidic, the court heard.

Sibbons, who can not be pictured for legal reasons, admitted throwing corrosive fluid on a person with intent to do grievous bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

Judge Radford said the teenager would serve six years and three months of the sentence in custody and the remaining two years on licence.



Sibbons, wearing a white shirt and dark tie, remained impassive and stared straight ahead as he was sentenced.

Prosecutor Martin Whitehouse told Snaresbrook Crown Court: 'This was an horrific attack, involving a degree of brutality and callousness rarely encountered.

'Almost, one might say, beyond comprehension.'

Miss Quigley, who did not know the teenager, has been left permanently scarred. She suffered burns to 7 per cent of her body, including her right arm, forearm, shoulder, chest, neck and face.

The front door of Tara's home in Romford, right, shows marks from where the acid sprayed. Left, Tara in happier times



Most of the burns went almost all the way through the skin, the court heard. She will need regular treatment over the next four years and is due another operation shortly.

Mr Whitehouse said Miss Quigley had been waiting for someone to deliver cannabis on the evening of April 30 when she saw someone approaching the house.

Upon opening the door, she was asked by the person if she was called Michelle. When she said no, he walked off - but there was a loud knock on the door 10 minutes later.

The prosecutor said: 'Miss Quigley opened the front door and saw the same man. He was holding onto a white bottle with both hands.

'He then pointed the bottle at Miss Quigley and squeezed.



'Miss Quigley felt liquid come into contact with her skin, followed almost immediately by a burning sensation.

'The man remained where he was, Miss Quigley shut the door and began to scream.

'She ran to the kitchen, turned the tap on and started putting water on her face.'

An ambulance was called and rushed Miss Quigley to hospital to be treated.



Raising the issue: Ms Quigley appeared on ITV's Daybreak programme, left, to talk about the case which reached its conclusion today. She attended an earlier hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, right



In a victim impact statement, Miss Quigley, who was in court to see her attacker jailed and wept as details were read out, said: 'The attack has left me feeling as though my life has been blown apart.



'I have been left both physically and emotional scarred, and am in constant pain and discomfort owing to burns on my face, chest and arms.'

She said her life had been turned upside down and that she did not feel safe returning to her home.

Miss Quigley now has limited mobility in her leg, for which she is undergoing physiotherapy, and has been told the skin grafts have only been 85% successful.

'I have lost confidence in my physical appearance and feel that people will stare at me when they see the scars' she said in her statement, describing the aftermath of the attack as 'crushingly stressful'.



Happy: Tara left the court smiling, but she did not want to speak to reporters after the sentencing

She added: 'I will have to live with this attack and the scars it has left me with for the rest of my life and nothing I can say or do will change that.

'I truly hope that the man responsible knows just what he has done and the grief and anguish he has caused to me and my entire family.'



Sibbons received an acid burn to the left side of his chest in the attack, the court heard.

When police spoke to him shortly before his arrest in May, he told officers: 'Yes, I did throw acid in the girl's face.'

He has four previous convictions and was on bail at the time of the attack.

Howard Cohen, defending, said: 'It is something he will regret for the rest of his life, and the consequences will fall on Miss Quigley for the rest of her life.'

He admitted that the actions of his client that night could be described as 'evil'.

Mr Cohen said Sibbons has no memory of how he came to be at Miss Quigley's house that evening.

However, Judge Radford said a large amount of money had been found after the teenager was arrested, adding: 'Another view could be that he was paid to undertake this.'

He added: 'It was, in my judgment, a truly wicked offence, which clearly was pre-meditated.'

He said Miss Quigley was an 'innocent young lady', with no connection to Sibbons, who has been left 'wholly affected' by his crime.

'You had absolutely no justification in doing what you did. Clearly, the victim will live with the consequences of what you did for the rest of her life,' said Judge Radford.

He said Sibbons had refused to say why he had carried out the attack.

The judge said: 'Clearly, you knew what you had done and knew that you were doing it.

'What you have not been prepared to do at any time, then or now, is tell the honest truth about how you came to commit this offence, how you obtained the acid and why you did it.'

He said Sibbons was a drug user who was already known to the police before the events of April 30.



Judge Radford gave Sibbons an extended sentence, meaning he will be on licence for two years after his release from custody, because he considers him to be a dangerous individual who poses 'significant risk' to the public.



