CPS North East - Domestic Abuse Prosecutions - December 2023

The following are examples of some of our successful domestic abuse prosecutions from December:

The defendant pleaded guilty at the first hearing to three counts of breaching a non-molestation order, which had been imposed to protect the victim. He also pleaded guilty to further offences in a separate case and both were brought before the court at the same time. The defendant was remanded in custody after the first hearing until sentencing, which protected the victim in the case.  At sentencing, the victim wished for the Judge to read her victim personal statement (VPS) to highlight the impact that the defendant had had on them. Over the two cases the defendant received a total sentence of 18 months’ custody. The victim was also granted a restraining order for further protection for a period of five years.

The victim had been in an informal relationship with the defendant since June 2023. She was at home with her two children when the defendant arrived unannounced. They watched a film with the children in bed when, out of the blue, the defendant accused the victim of seeing another man. Shortly after this verbal interaction, he struck her in the face with his fist inflicting a cut to her face. He initially apologised but then assaulted her again, punching her to the nose and side of the head several times saying ‘look what you have made me do to you’. The police arrived shortly after the assault, as the victim had pre-warned her daughter to ring the police if she was ever in danger. The defendant denied the offence, but was found guilty of a section 47 assault after trial and committed to the Crown Court for sentence. He is currently remanded into custody pending sentence.

The defendant was charged with offences of assault by beating and criminal damage. The police attended at the victim’s address after a call to the police. The victim was in a distressed state and made a complaint of assault and criminal damage which was captured on body-worn video. She alleged that the defendant had pulled her down the stairs by the hair and punched the bathroom door. The victim declined to support a prosecution, which proceeded instead using the body-worn video as evidence in her absence. The defendant was found guilty at trial and later received a two-year community order with completion of the Building Better Relationships course, 25 rehabilitation days and alcohol abstinence monitoring for a period of 90 days.

Following the victim breaking up with the defendant on a night out, he began to assault the victim by biting her, hitting her with a coat hanger, trying to stab her with scissors and strangling her around the throat, which caused multiple injuries. The victim did not support a prosecution, but this was still able to proceed with offences of non-fatal strangulation and section 47 assault, using other witness evidence and the photographs of her injuries. The defendant initially entered not guilty pleas at the Magistrates’ Court. However, he changed his pleas to guilty during the plea trial and preparation hearing (PTPH) at the Crown Court. The defendant was later sentenced to a total of 30 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. The Judge warned the defendant that he had missed “prison by a whisker”.

The defendant and the victim had previously been in an on and off relationship for eight years. In the early hours of the morning, whilst she was at a friend’s address, the defendant stormed into the property shouting at the victim. He also pushed the friends’ boyfriend up against a cupboard, punching him to the face. The defendant then grabbed the victim by the throat and pushed her against the kitchen door, which caused her to fall backwards. He then punched her friend who was sat down in the head, causing injuries to his head and eye. The defendant was charged with two offences of common assault by beating and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. At trial, the defendant was found guilty of the assault occasioning actual bodily harm and one count of assault by beating. He received an 18-month community order and was ordered to pay compensation of £200 to the assault victim. A restraining order was applied for in relation to the victim, which was granted for two years.