A man who launched a vicious and unprovoked attack on a man with learning difficulties on Brixton Hill has been jailed for 12 years.
Damien Pankiewicz, 37, of no fixed address, approached the 52-year-old victim at a bus stop at around 7pm on 22 July last year and assaulted him for no reason, repeatedly punching him. He continued to punch the victim, even after he had fallen unconscious to the ground.
Pankiewicz then grabbed the unconscious victim by the neck and dragged him into the road and left him in front of an oncoming bus, which managed to stop just in time. This was caught on video.
He was arrested and later convicted of grievous bodily harm with intent.
Pankiewicz, who is Polish, had only been in the country two days at the time of the attack. He will be deported after serving his prison sentence.
Inner London Crown Court heard that Pankiewicz had convictions for rape and assault in Poland.
The victim suffered bleeding on the brain, a broken leg and broken ribs as a result of the attack.
When he was arrested Pankiewicz head-butted the window of a police car, smashing the window with his face.
Pankiewicz claimed that the victim had stolen his phone. CCTV evidence and property recovered from the victim disproved this claim and Pankiewicz was convicted on 16 March this year.
