Poking a tongue out at the law... Thug laughs as he avoids jail for vile attack A thug who bit off a man's tongue mocked his victim outside court after he was spared jail by a judge. David Greaves, 50, pumped his fist and shouted "tongue's twisted!" as he celebrated avoiding custody for the sickening assault. But Judge Gillian Matthews instead handed down a suspended sentence because she "trusted" him to stop his violent behaviour. The same judge sparked controversy last year when she refused to jail a convicted paedophile who claimed a child made sexual advances towards him. Yesterday, victim Mr Dufton, 33, was "furious" with the leniency of the sentence and is demanding a review by the Attorney General. The water engineer is now missing a one inch chunk of his tongue, leaving him with a permanent speech impediment which he said "scares and confuses" his children. A family friend said: "This man has done this sort of thing before on a number of occasions. Teesside Crown Court heard how Greaves started the trouble inside a pub in Chester-le-Street on May 25 by head-butting and punching Mr Dufton. As the fight spilled outside, Greaves tried to gouge his victim's eyes with his thumbs. Prosecutor Peter Sabiston said: "He pulled his head down, inserted his tongue, shook his head and somehow managed to latch on to Mr Dufton's tongue. Despite his injuries, Mr Dufton chased his attacker and gave him a "comprehensive beating" before going to hospital. Surgeons were unable to re-attach the missing part of the tongue, which had been taken to hospital in ice. He said: "The pain was unbearable, I was in agony, the worst pain I have ever known in my life. The fact that he celebrated like he did outside court, sticking his tongue out, just shows what kind of man he is. Greaves, who has convictions for violence going back to 1997, said he had no memory of the biting. He admitted causing grievous bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of five years. Judge Matthews called it a "truly horrific" attack, adding: "How he behaved to you in advance did not justify your disgraceful conduct, which must have been a truly horrendous thing." However, she said she was "trusting" Greaves, of Pelton, County Durham, to stop his violent behaviour and handed down a two-year suspended jail term. She also ordered him to pay £2,000 in compensation and imposed a two-year restraining order. Last year, Judge Matthews outraged children's charities after freeing paedophile John Thompson, who accused his seven-year-old victim of "coming on to him." In 2011, the judge told serial criminal James Wanley he could do jail "standing on his head" and needed "a tougher punishment" - so she gave him a suspended sentence.