Acid bath victim contemplates lawsuit against attacker

May 27, 2013 News

– “five or 15 years imprisonment will never remove the scars I carry”

By Jenelle Willabus
Although at times his faith in the justice system was dimming, his faith in God was never wavering and last Friday he had some amount of satisfaction.

The scars Robin will live with for the rest of his life.

Ron Robin before the acid attack.

Ron Robin was doused with acid on Mother’s Day 2005. His attacker was captured seven years later. After a ten month trial in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, Robin’s attacker, Matthew Hyman was jailed for five years and an additional six months for assaulting Robin’s wife.
Initially, Hyman was charged with felonious wounding for injuries he inflicted on Robin’s wife, Melissa Rogers. However, because of an incorrect date which was on her medical certificate, the presiding magistrate was forced to institute a lesser charge. It was only in June of last year that Hyman was arrested after being on the run for seven years.
Today, Robin said he now feels a sense of satisfaction, having seen his attacker being brought to justice.
“Five years or fifteen years in prison will never remove the scars I live with daily but it has not stopped me from progressing in life,” Robin said yesterday, while sitting in the very yard he was attacked mere inches away from where the incident took place.
It all happened on a Sunday morning when he and his reputed wife got out of bed and were planning their day as they would normally do.
“We would normally clean up the front of the yard before we open the shop and I told her I was going to call my mother because it was Mother’s Day.”
Robin said his wife went to sweep the yard but he noticed that she was inappropriately dressed for outside chores, so he decided to sweep the yard.
Pointing to the spot where the incident occurred Robin said as he was sweeping he noticed his attacker but paid no attention to him since he assumed that the argument they had the day before was over.
“Up to this day I would like to know what really caused this incident the day before the attack we had an little misunderstanding about my shop and his shop and from that I figured he was upset that I moved into the area and had a thriving business,”.
“While I was sweeping I hear his phone ringing so I told him his phone was ringing, but a little before that I saw him with a coffee bottle and I thought it was something like disinfectant to clean the yard and within seconds I saw him rushing towards me with the bottle.”
Robin said the feeling of being doused with the acid was one he still can’t find words to explain.
“It was like fire but given my little military training I couldn’t panic and as a boxer I told myself this is just a hard blow I got in the ring and need to take the pain but think at the same time,”.
Robin said he ran into the street hoping to stop a car but the driver of the first vehicle he flagged down stopped briefly, but quickly sped off.
“This man just see the smoke coming out of my skin and drive away so the next car I see I ran in front of the car to stop”.
That driver was willing enough to do the good deed but not for free. Robin said when he got to the Georgetown Public Hospital he realized he hadn’t any money to pay the driver so he gave the man his phone and asked if he could get back his phone at a later date. Robin never saw the driver again nor his cellular phone but at that time a cellular phone was the least of his worries.
Once he was in the Accident and Emergency room Robin said he was advised to go under the shower. Soon after his reputed wife came to the hospital with injuries she sustained while trying to apprehend his attacker, who had slashed her with a knife. The next three weeks for Robin in Hospital were the most difficult weeks of his life. Every day he bled for hours as nurses carefully cleaned his burns. One week before being discharged from hospital, Robin was opening a CD to listen to music when he saw his reflection in the disc.
Life after that was never the same. Robin had to carefully re-expose himself to natural sunlight. Being a small businessman, he had to allow his wife to do business for him as people often associated his injuries with consequences of a criminal life.
“People would stare at me…one time I went into a bank and a woman who was in front of me clutched her bag and started acting nervous.” Robin said ever since the incident his social life came to an end as he stopped going out in public.
Thankfully, Robin said he had the unwavering support of his reputed wife who he has been with for the past 19 years. Robin said some say he looks like a ‘monster’ after the attack but his wife sees him differently as she stuck by his side through it all. The young thriving businessman said his wife has helped to rebuild his self confidence.
But he says he still cannot understand why any human being would want to hurt another to that extent.
“I still want to sit and talk to this attacker and find out why he did this. I can’t understand what led him to do this but at the same time I want him to be brought to justice, while I know nothing will ever erase what I have to live with”.
To this day Robin says he is always suspicious when he sees a car passing too regularly outside of his home or some strange person around his premises.
“At times when my wife brings my food I would find myself smelling it before and I have to constantly remind myself that it’s my wife.”
Although he attacker is behind bars, the way the accused took the sentence, with no sign of remorse, makes Robin feel this may not be the end of his trouble. Hence he said he is strongly contemplating civil action.