CARER JAILED FOR STRANGLING VULNERABLE WOMAN HE CARED FOR
A 'frustrated' carer who was responsible for looking after a vulnerable woman has been sentenced to prison for strangling her.Alan Straughan, of Sunrise Lane, Houghton-le-Spring, attacked a woman he knew for around six years, having been her carer for about three years.
The assault occurred after she asked him to call her dog in from the garden.
Kate Barnes, the prosecutor, stated: "He did so but upon returning he was angry and leaned over her, beginning to strangle her with both hands.
He pressed hard, causing her to struggle to breathe, and she feared she was going to die." She described how he kept her in a chokehold for approximately a minute, during which she turned to poking him in the face or eye, prompting him to release her.
Following the attack, Straughan threatened her, saying, "stay down or I will do it again." He then poured a drink over her head.
The victim contacted her mother, who alerted police, and she was left with soreness and tenderness to her neck.
In her victim impact statement, she expressed feeling shaken and frightened, saying: "I'm still shaken by the attack.
I feel frightened of being on my own.
While I was being strangled, I was scared I would die because I have trouble with my breathing." Straughan admitted to the police that he strangled her and stated he was going to kill her out of frustration.
The court heard Straughan had nine previous convictions, including for battery.
He pleaded guilty to charges of intentional strangulation, threats to kill, and common assault.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and was given a ten-year restraining order.
The judge emphasized the gravity of the incident, highlighting that it was an abusive breach of trust by a carer towards a vulnerable individual, and she was terrified during the incident, fearing for her life.
