Inverness CT's Riccardo Calder guilty of Birmingham assault
A footballer has been found guilty of kicking and punching a woman after her car hit the back of his.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle midfielder Riccardo Calder, 22, punched the 24-year-old victim several times through her car window, prosecutors said. He denied assault but was found guilty at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. Calder, of Denholme Grove, Druids Heath, will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 4 December. 'Sustained attack' The court heard how Calder met the victim, who he knew, at a club in Kings Heath on 7 May. The assault happened in the early hours of the morning after Calder dropped her to her car. The victim's car collided with the back of the footballer's vehicle and they both then drove to a pub car park where Calder punched her several times through her open window, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Once she got out the car he continued to assault her by kicking her and swinging a shoe at her. The victim suffered significant bruising to her eyes and face, a fracture to her thumb and a cut to her lip. Samantha Morgan, from the CPS, said the clarity of CCTV footage of the attack assisted in convicting Calder. She said: "The court did not accept that the defendant acted in self-defence due to the sustained attack evidenced by the CCTV." Calder began his career as a youth player at Aston Villa and was capped by England at U17 level. Following a series of loan moves, he was transferred to the Caley Jags in 2017.