gender bender Thug spat on partner, decked mum and grabbed stepdad by testicles at gender reveal

This is the thug who spat on his pregnant partner, smacked her head, decked her mum and then grabbed her stepdad by the testicles - all during a joyous gender reveal party.

Lewis Lyttle can be seen here proud as 'punch' as his glowing girlfriend, who we aren't identifying, bursts a balloon which revealed the young Belfast couple are due to have a baby daughter later this year.

But after getting tanked-up, 21-year-old Lyttle, who was jailed this week for a year, burst the 'happy' couple's metaphorical balloon by going on an astonishing rampage.

A video of the happy occasion, held in Newtownabbey four months ago, remains on public view on social media.

But a court heard this week how things didn't remain joyous for long and the video could be renamed 'When gender reveal parties go wrong'.

Gender reveal parties have become the thing to do these days with thousands of pounds often spent hosting parties so expectant parents can tell gathered family and friends if they are having a boy or a girl.

But few, hopefully, end up like this one did.

 

The video posted by one of the godparents-to-be shows Lyttle's partner waiting to pop a balloon with 'Baby Lyttle??' written on it with the idea being the baby's gender is a secret until either pink or blue confetti is released when pricked.

A crowd of girls give the couple - who the court heard this week are not surprisingly together anymore - a countdown and scream with joy as they reveal a baby girl is on the way.

Lyttle is in the background with his own pink confetti party popper but he was soon to become the 'party pooper' when he completely lost the plot.

Just a few weeks before the fracas Lyttle's partner had posted the happy news that she and Lewis were due to have a baby together and the baby was due next month.

"So me and Lewis have our own little secret to share. The biggest blessing to come. Can't wait to meet you our little monkey. April 2022," she said on Facebook.

The post was accompanied by baby scan pictures, cuddly toys, booties and a tiny baby vest. But Lyttle was jailed this week for 12 months for the shocking meltdown which took place last November.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard how the baby-faced thug also shoved the future mother of his firstborn baby against a radiator during the family gathering.

Lyttle, of Knocknagoney Park in Belfast, admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of common assault.

The thug, who remains in Hydebank despite mounting an appeal against his 12-month prison term, was arrested after police were called to a house in the Newtownabbey area in the early hours of November 7 last year.

A Crown lawyer said: "He had assaulted his pregnant partner by spitting on her and pushing her onto a radiator, causing her to hit her head."

The woman's mother was struck on the lip when she tried to intervene, the court heard.

"Her stepfather then came out of an upstairs bedroom, and the defendant grabbed him by the testicles (and forearm)," the prosecutor added.

 

When restrained and cautioned by police at the scene, Lyttle replied: "Right." Defence counsel Rachael McCormick said her client accepted full culpability and indicated that the couple are no longer together.

"It arose out of what was due to be quite a nice day," she told the court.

"The defendant and his ex-partner were expecting their first child and organised a gender reveal party on the date these offences occurred."

A combination of alcohol and a "fractious" family relationship resulted in Lyttle's "negative reaction", according to Ms McCormick.

Setting out the defendant's anger management issues, the barrister said he has undergone work aimed at ensuring full involvement in his child's life.

Following submissions, Judge Noel Dunlop said: "There is no alternative but to impose a custodial sentence."

He ordered Lyttle to serve a total of six months for the assaults plus a further six months from a previous suspended sentence. Ms McCormick confirmed her client's intention to appeal the prison term.

steven.moore@sundayworld.com