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Thumb-bite Deliveroo rider given suspended sentence

Solent News and Photo Agency Jeniffer Rocha, a woman with long, straight hair who wears a dark top. She has a slight frown in this zoomed-in photograph taken at some distance outside court.Solent News and Photo Agency
Jeniffer Rocha's conduct was "completely unacceptable", prosecutors said

A food delivery rider who bit off a customer's thumb has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Jeniffer Rocha, 35, attacked Stephen Jenkinson in an argument over a Deliveroo pizza order in Aldershot, Hampshire, in December 2022.

She previously pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court to causing grievous bodily harm.

Rocha was sentenced to a 16-month prison term, suspended for 18 months, at Salisbury Crown Court.

Warning: This story contains a graphic image and details that some readers may find upsetting

Stephen Jenkinson, who has a short beard and spiky dark hair, looks straight at the camera
Mr Jenkinson's life had been "permanently altered", the court heard

Mr Jenkinson's partner ordered a pizza from the food delivery app on 14 December 2022.

But Rocha arrived at the wrong location, down the street from the customer's home, prosecutors said.

When he went to get his food, he forgot his phone and a brief argument ensued about the delivery code number he needed to provide.

Mr Jenkinson said he was then bitten, as if he had "gone through a chainsaw".

Mr Jenkinson's bloodied and bandaged hand, showing the remaining four fingers
Mr Jenkinson said Rocha took his thumb "clean off" with the power of a "chainsaw"

"All I remember, I was shaking her helmet trying to get her off," the 36-year-old plumber told the BBC.

"The force with which she must have been biting, she'd clean taken it off."

John Hepworth, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Mr Jenkinson has suffered from life-changing injuries, the impact of which cannot be understated.

"This attack has permanently altered his life.

“Jeniffer Rocha’s assault far exceeded that of any force necessary and her conduct was completely unacceptable."

Rocha continued to work on Deliveroo orders despite the firm taking action to stop her

In April, BBC News filmed Rocha still delivering food, despite Deliveroo taking action against her.

The firm said it had previously cancelled an account she had been using in December and subsequently terminated a second account.

Rocha had been working as a so-called "substitute" rider, sharing someone else's account.

The big three delivery apps - Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats - announced in April they would tighten up their systems to check the identities of "substitute" riders.

A spokesperson for Deliveroo said: "This was a truly awful incident. We fully cooperated with the police on the investigation, and our thoughts are with Mr Jenkinson."

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