YORK MAN JAILED FOR NEARLY BLINDING GIRLFRIEND AND STREET ROBBERY
A man described as an “inadequate” individual who nearly blinded his partner during a violent assault and later robbed a stranger in the street has been sentenced to prison.Callum Brown, aged 27, contacted his parents by phone afterward, confessing that he had been “smashing her face in,” after striking his girlfriend over 20 times, according to prosecutor Austin Newman.
The woman escaped her home and was discovered by members of the public bleeding from multiple injuries, with a bite mark on her arm and in a state of distress.
She was taken to hospital where she required surgery to repair a fractured part of her face.
Brown left her residence before law enforcement arrived; however, upon returning after her hospital stay, she found her belongings, fixtures, and furniture vandalized by him.
The assault left her with permanent scars and likely lasting damage to her eyesight, Mr Newman told York Crown Court.
Even more than two years later, she continues to experience migraines, nightmares, and other consequences of the attack, which was triggered when he refused to leave her home as their relationship ended.
He had controlled her for two years, isolating her from family and friends, and would blame her and attack her when experiencing mental health issues.
In her personal statement, she expressed that “I feel like Callum Brown has changed the whole trajectory of my life,” noting that his actions caused her to lose employment, drop out of university, and possibly forego her aspiration of becoming a dentist.
She also lost over £23,000 in student loans and related payments.
Brown, of York, was released on bail but then participated in a gang assault on a stranger in Bridge Street, York, and attempted to intimidate his former partner into withdrawing her testimony.
Judge Sean Morris, addressing him, said, “The real reason for your behaviour is that you are a self-contained inadequate male scared that the partner you have will realize that, if she is allowed to meet a real man.” The judge added that Brown’s violence could have caused blindness and emphasized its damaging impact on the woman.
Brown pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the woman, engaging in controlling or coercive conduct during their relationship, criminal damage, witness intimidation, and robbery.
He received a prison sentence of 55 months and a 10-year restraining order prohibiting contact with her.
Previously, Brown had been imprisoned for biting a man.
Last month, two other men involved in the Bridge Street robbery were also jailed; they and Brown had surrounded a stranger and forced him to buy alcohol from a nearby store, with Brown physically restraining the victim from walking away at one point, prosecutor Newman told the court.
Neal Kutte, representing Brown, highlighted serious mental health issues including an emotionally unstable personality disorder and ADHD, adding that Brown had disclosed childhood abuse that might explain his behaviour and attitudes.
Kutte noted that Brown was aware of his substance misuse problems and wished to address them.
The witness intimidation involved a single message sent via his phone, which Brown did not attempt to conceal or avoid, nor did he attempt to visit the woman afterward.
