A man who struck a woman on the head with a metal bar outside a Spalding nightclub has been jailed for 18 months.
Silvian Munteanu, 34, admitted charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm, affray and possessing an offensive weapon over the incident outside the XO nightclub on Westlode Street during the early hours of September 28, 2025. He was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday, September 18, 2026.
The court heard that Munteanu was caught on CCTV hitting the woman as she tried to calm a confrontation involving two groups of men in Spalding town centre. She fell face-first to the ground and was later found with a fractured eye socket and broken nose.
Victim left with continuing health problems
The woman woke up covered in blood while police were present, the court was told. An impact statement read to the court said she had suffered frequent migraines since the attack and felt she was no longer the same person.
Judge Simon Hirst described the victim as an “innocent woman” who had been trying to calm the confrontation. Passing sentence, he said: “What you did was outrageous. You raised the metal pole you were carrying and for absolutely no reason at all you struck her on the back of the head.”
The judge said the use of a metal bar meant the consequences were particularly serious because the woman fell forwards on to the floor. He also said Munteanu’s previous conviction for attempted murder aggravated the offending.
Second man also sentenced
The court heard Munteanu and his friend Danut Ionica, 25, fled the scene without helping the injured woman because they wanted to avoid police. Ionica had also been carrying a wooden pole.
Munteanu discarded the metal pole and denied in his police interview that he had used it to hit the woman. He later admitted the three charges linked to the incident.
Ionica, of Rowan Avenue, Spalding, pleaded guilty to affray and possessing an offensive weapon. He was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community.
A restraining order prevents both men from having contact with the victim.
Previous conviction raised in court
The court heard that Munteanu, of Westlode Street, Spalding, was sentenced to five years in prison in Romania in 2014 for attempted murder. Attempts by the Crown Prosecution Service to obtain details of that offence from Romanian authorities had not succeeded.
Edna Leonard, representing Munteanu in mitigation, said he had been 21 when convicted in Romania. She said he had served three years and four months and been released for good behaviour before moving to the UK with his wife from their small village in Romania. The court heard he found employment soon after arriving.
Ms Leonard acknowledged the significance of the CCTV evidence, saying: “The video speaks for itself. It is very sad that at the start he is pulling his friend (Ionica) away.” She also said Munteanu viewed the incident as a fight involving his friend, who was assaulting a man, and that Munteanu became involved towards the end.
The court was told the victim suffered chest pains and was taken to hospital after the incident. Judge Hirst’s sentence means Munteanu will serve 18 months in prison, while Ionica’s suspended sentence remains subject to its conditions during the 12-month period.
