Two men barged into the home of another and attacked him in a row allegedly sparked by “harmful” Facebook posts about one of their children.
Lewis Armstrong, 32, and Jack Cox, 27, entered the property in Canterbury and assaulted the victim in his garden.
Cox’s girlfriend, Shianne Lee, joined the pair, warning the victim’s child she would set fire to the house if the police were called.
Canterbury Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the row had reportedly been triggered by social media posts about Armstrong’s son, who was in hospital.
The prosecution told how Armstrong used a blunt weapon to rain blows down on the victim, while Lee “directed her anger” towards his child at the scene.
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Lee warned the youngster “you need to make sure your mum and dad don’t call the police, otherwise I will burn your house down”, said prosecutor Edmund Blackman.
The victim suffered bruising and swelling to his back amid the violence at his home in Vauxhall Crescent on April 4, 2020.
His partner said in a victim impact statement her children were left terrified and feared going outside once Covid-19 restrictions were relaxed.
She said her anxiety was “through the roof” during the months following the attack.
The trio admitted their actions on the day a trial was due to start at the same court in February.
But Armstrong argued in his basis of plea that no weapon was used during the beating.
However, the judge, Recorder Michael Turner, ruled against him in a later hearing.
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Gillian Frost, defending Armstrong, said he became involved because of “harmful social media postings about his child, who was in hospital at that time”.
She added he helps provide around-the-clock care to the youngster, and highlighted no further incidents of violence had occurred.
Suzanne Fewins, mitigating for Cox, said he “expressed remorse” and vowed there will be no “repeat of any such incident or behaviour”.
Representing Lee, Phil Rowley said she played a “secondary role” during the attack, while her behaviour was “limited to words rather than actions”.
Lee “accepts she said some entirely inappropriate things” at the scene following the “inappropriate exchange of social media messages”, Mr Rowley said.
Armstrong, of Tennyson Avenue and previous good character, was jailed for 22 months after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm, but the sentence was suspended for two years.
Cox, of Conrad Avenue, Canterbury, who has two old convictions, was handed 16 months suspended for two years, after admitting the same charge.
He was also ordered to pay £750 compensation and complete 150 hours unpaid work.
Lee, of the same address, has one previous minor conviction. She was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, and 20 probation days after admitting affray.
All three were also given a five-year restraining order.
