Testicle bite woman Maria Topp given suspended sentence
A mother of four who admitted biting her boyfriend's scrotum during a drunken row has been given a suspended jail term.
Maria Topp, 44, from Gateshead, attacked Martin Douglas at his Newcastle flat in February.
The 45-year-old DJ needed 19 stitches to a wound on his scrotum.
The recorder at Newcastle Crown Court handed Topp, of Aycliffe Place, Wrekenton, a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He also ordered her to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, and imposed a restraining order preventing her from contacting Mr Douglas.
Recorder Robin Mairs said: "This relationship is over, I think both of you accept that."
Topp had previously pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
That hearing was told that the pair, who had been in a relationship for about five years, had been drinking at the time of the attack, which Topp did not remember.
It was not clear what sparked the violence between the couple in the early hours of 18 February.
Police were called and found Mr Douglas with a wound to his scrotum which had left one of his testicles exposed.
He has since made a full recovery.
Recorder Mairs referred to the couple's "turbulent relationship" and said the pair must have been "blind drunk", after a sustained drinking session.
He said to Topp: "You bit his scrotum with enough force to rip his skin.
"It must have been excruciatingly painful."