BRANDEN LEE KEARNEY

A Corby man has been jailed for four years after being convicted of assaulting two women he had been in relationships with.

Branden Lee Kearney, aged 27, was reported to Northamptonshire Police on August 10, 2023, by a woman who told officers he had been abusing her for the past year.

She disclosed multiple incidents including physical assaults which caused broken bones, controlling behaviour, and damaging her possessions, breaking her mobile phone at least seven times.

The Force’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit began an investigation, with Kearney circulated for arrest and a wanted appeal issued.

With the search for Kearney underway, on August 27 the Force then received a dropped 999 call with screaming heard in the background, which was traced to an address in Corby.

When Response officers arrived, they found a second woman in a highly distressed state following an assault by Kearney who had attacked her after becoming jealous, hitting her, and threatening to kill her before running off when he heard the police sirens.

Investigations into both reports continued and when Kearney was arrested on December 28, he was charged with a total of 14 offences against the two women, including grievous bodily harm, intentional strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, stalking involving fear of violence, threats to kill, breach of a non-molestation order and criminal damage.

He denied the offences and the case went to trial at Northampton Crown Court on August 19 this year, only for Kearney to agree to admit to four counts against him, which the prosecution accepted.

Kearney entered guilty pleas to two counts of grievous bodily harm against the first woman, and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the second.

He was sentenced on Tuesday, August 20, to a total of four years’ imprisonment.

He was also given 10-year restraining orders preventing him from contacting the victims in any way.