Man Who Bit Girlfriend's Face Convicted

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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - A man who bit off part of his girlfriend's face and spit it out on the sidewalk was convicted of assault.

Gareth Whyte's lawyer contended prosecutors could not prove his girlfriend was seriously injured or disfigured. But the prosecutor argued Whyte should not get a break just because the woman had a talented plastic surgeon.

"I'll agree the defendant is not guilty when he can put this back," said prosecutor Heide Mason, holding up a jar containing the girlfriend's flesh.

Whyte, 27, of New Rochelle, was found guilty Thursday and could get up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced March 1.

During a fight last Mother's Day, he bit the left side of Dorothy Pritchett's face, through skin, nerves, fat and muscle, exposing a gaping hole below her eye, prosecutors said.

Pritchett testified that Whyte had bitten her once before, complaining that her clothes were too sexy.