Neighbour headbutts father knocking him unconscious after asking for his son’s football back – before posting altercation online
A man who headbutted his neighbour over a football and then posted footage of the attack on social media has been sentenced at Teesside Crown Court.
Mark Quinn, 57, from Redcar, North Yorkshire, knocked his victim unconscious when the father came to retrieve his son’s ball that had accidentally landed in Quinn’s garden.
The incident, captured on Ring Doorbell footage, went viral after Quinn shared it on both TikTok and Facebook, reaching millions of views.
The court heard that the incident occurred on September 3 when the victim’s son was playing football in his garden and accidentally kicked the ball over the fence.
When the father rang Quinn’s doorbell to ask for the ball back, the 57-year-old responded with “a forceful headbutt to the victim’s face,” prosecutor Jon Harley told the court.
The attack left the victim unconscious on the ground.
When other neighbours came to assist the injured man, Quinn made a racist remark about the victim.
After the assault, Quinn took to social media to share footage of the attack captured by his Ring Doorbell camera.
The footage was posted on both TikTok and Facebook, where it quickly went viral.
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Quinn also attempted to discredit his victim by making false allegations on TikTok, claiming the father was “a pervert.”
“In an attempt to deflect his bizarre aggressive actions, he tried to intimidate me on TikTok,” the victim’s statement read.
The court heard that Quinn and his family continued to share the footage online, with the video ultimately receiving millions of views.
The victim’s sister read out an impact statement in court, describing the devastating effects of the assault and subsequent social media campaign.
“I was thrown back several feet by this savage attack, which knocked me out,” the victim’s statement added.
The victim explained how Quinn’s false accusations had led to him being “stigmatised” in the community.
“Can you imagine how we felt?” the statement continued.
The victim noted that he was “fully DBS checked,” refuting Quinn’s allegations.
Quinn pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Teesside Crown Court.
His defence lawyer, Tom Bennett, described the incident as “an impulsive and spontaneous offence” involving “one headbutt.”
Judge Joanne Kidd noted Quinn “should have faced other charges” for uploading the footage online.
Quinn received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days.
He must pay £500 compensation to his victim and £1,200 in court costs.
The court also imposed an indefinite restraining order, prohibiting Quinn from contacting his victim or sharing videos of the attack online.