2016: THUG BENJAMIN ROONEY WHO ATTACKED HIS GIRLFRIEND ON CHRISTMAS DAY
A man who assaulted his partner on Christmas Day and subsequently stabbed her has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.Bolton Crown Court was informed that Benjamin Rooney engaged in a sustained pattern of violence against his girlfriend, which ended with him stabbing her thumb with a knife.
Prosecutor William Donnelly explained that Rooney started a relationship with the woman in October of the previous year, and at first, it was a happy relationship.
"However, things soon deteriorated as Mr Rooney began to exhibit more controlling and possessive behaviors," Mr Donnelly stated.
"It was, in effect, a campaign of violence." The court heard that on Christmas Day, an argument at a family gathering led Rooney to verbally insult, spit at, and push his partner.
Two days later, during a night out with friends at a pub, another altercation occurred where he pulled her hair.
Afterwards, Rooney left in a taxi, and when she went home to escape him, he threatened her with a knife, following her there.
He damaged her car’s interior mirror and continued his threats until she agreed to return inside.
The most severe incident took place on January 31, after a night out in Bolton.
During this argument, Rooney spat at his partner, forcing her to move away from him at a bar.
When she arrived home, Rooney assaulted her by hitting her over the head with her handbag and stamping on and kicking her leg.
Armed with a knife, he threatened her life and then stabbed her thumb in the bathroom.
Although the relationship ended, she waited two months before reporting the incidents to police.
The court was told Rooney kept trying to contact her and refused to leave her alone, prompting her to involve law enforcement.
Rooney, of Cravenwood Rose, Westhoughton, pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm, possessing a knife, three counts of assault, and criminal damage.
Defence solicitor Paul Bryning spoke of Rooney’s long working hours during the relationship and his misuse of alcohol and cocaine as coping mechanisms, which he did not initially realize were affecting him.
Judge Timothy Clayson, the Bolton Honorary Recorder, sentenced Rooney and remarked, “When you drink and take drugs, you become a cowardly bully.
Frankly, you should be totally ashamed of your conduct.”
