Boyfriend Gets 19 Years for Throwing Boiling Chemicals on Suspected Love Rival

A 24-year-old man from Wales was sentenced to 19 years in prison last week after being convicted for throwing acid on a man he believed was hitting on his girlfriend, potentially blinding the victim.

Heddlu police in Wales announced Jivan Dean’s conviction over the weekend, saying that his assault “inflicted life-changing injuries on his victim.”

Dean was arrested in mid-August, three days after authorities say he “threw a corrosive substance over” another man, “potentially causing him to lose his sight.”

The Times reported that Dean attacked Raven Riley after believing he had “paid attention” to his girlfriend weeks prior. The outlet reported that Dean and Riley, 21, were at a house party together when Dean emerged from the kitchen with a pan full of caustic soda and threw it into Riley’s face, yelling, “Stay away from my girlfriend!”

Riley had met Dean’s girlfriend once prior to the incident, according to the Times.

After the attack, Dean fled the scene while Riley screamed in pain and pleaded with others for help, according to police. The Times reported that witnesses told a Swansea court during Dean’s hearing that the leather seat Riley was sitting on began to melt and bubble over from the chemicals Dean threw at the victim.

“No one ever wants to lose their eyesight because it’s such an important part of a human’s existence,” Riley said in court, according to The Times. “He will never know how much pain and hurt he has caused myself and my family. He has ruined my life.”

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Heddlu police said Riley was treated at Glangwili Hospital, where a staffer told officers what had happened. Police arrested Dean three days later and charged him with assault causing grievous bodily harm and throwing a corrosive substance with intent to maim, burn or disfigure.

Dean admitted to the crime, police said.

“This was an appalling act of violence, which was carried out with the intent of causing significant harm,” said Dyfed-Powys Police Detective Chief Inspector Gary Williams. “The victim suffered chemical burns the likes of which hospital staff had never seen, and his eyesight is likely to be impacted for the rest of his life.”