TEEN BRUTALLY BEAT HIS GIRLFRIEND THEN TOLD POLICE 'I'M GOING TO SMASH HER FACE IN WHEN I GET OUT' HAS BEEN SPARED JAIL
A teenage offender ignited an image of his girlfriend's deceased grandmother and declared she would 'rot in hell'.Callum Peacock's conduct, described as 'disgraceful and shocking', took place during a violent assault that caused his girlfriend to cower on the bathroom floor, after he threw bleach and paint at her.
This disturbing event, which also involved him hurling dumbbells at his victim and hitting her with a golf club, occurred just days after he had attacked her with a hammer.
Despite threatening police during his arrest, warning 'I'm going to smash her face in when I get out,' Peacock has since been released from custody.
At Liverpool Crown Court, it was explained that Peacock and the complainant, whose name was not disclosed, had been in a relationship for around 18 months before the incident on January 25.
On that day, police responded to calls at their apartment.
The 19-year-old defendant, from Frederick Street, St Helens, met officers outside and claimed he was involved in a ‘toxic relationship’ and accused his girlfriend of hitting him.
Prosecutor Lucy Moran described Peacock’s claims as an attempt to reduce his own responsibility, noting he provided inconsistent accounts of a fight that happened inside their flat.
Nonetheless, he admitted to throwing objects at his partner, stating he sometimes 'snaps', and confessed to setting fire to a photograph of his girlfriend’s late grandmother, then using a T-shirt to ignite a fire.
Police found the victim covered in white paint, curled up, and crying loudly behind a bathroom door that was smoldering and emitting smoke.
She reported that Peacock had thrown paint, tried to set her ablaze, and bitten her arm during a harrowing ordeal lasting three hours.
During the attack, he also struck her with a broomstick and golf club, physically restrained her with a chokehold from behind, and shattered the bathroom door with the golf club when she attempted to hide.
He later threw dumbbells and bleach at her, some of which splashed onto her, and then used an aerosol can and lighter to set the door on fire.
Peacock’s rampage included threatening to burn down the flat and taking a memorial T-shirt bearing her grandmother’s image, which he then set alight, telling her she would 'rot in hell'.
She also revealed a previous incident two days earlier when he hit her with a hammer after an argument.
Peacock meanwhile continued to make threats towards his victim in custody following his arrest, telling officers "I'm going to smash her face in when I get out".
He has no previous convictions.
Carmel Wilde, defending, told the court: "He has been in custody now for some four-and-a-half months.
He is a very young man at 19.
He is immature.
He wishes to apologise, through me, to the victim and to the court for this disgraceful behaviour and the shocking experience of the complainant.
"He is fortunate that she has not suffered more serious injuries.
He was only 17 or 18 when the relationship started.
It escalated very quickly into a volatile relationship on both sides.
He has made good progress in custody.
He has been complying with the regime.
He has enhanced status.
"He has the support of his adoptive parents.
He is keen to embark upon his rehabilitation within the community.
Your honour could impose a suspended sentence to allow him to build upon that progress.
He is young and there is that realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
He clearly needs help with emotional regulation and domestic violence situations." Peacock admitted two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, arson and criminal damage.
Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was handed an 18-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days and a five-year restraining order.
Judge Stuart Driver KC said: "The case is made worse by the fact that it was an episode of domestic violence.
Taken altogether, this amounts to a serious incident.
"In mitigation, you are young, in your teens still, and are clearly immature and ill equipped for adult relationships.
You have no previous convictions, which makes a big difference, and I have read about your early life in care.
"You have been in custody for nearly five months.
If you were on bail today, I would have no option but to send you immediately to prison.
But that, in effect, has already happened.
"It seems to me that the fact that makes all the difference in this case is that you have already been in custody for the equivalent of a nine month sentence.
If you commit an offence or do not do what your probation officers tell you, you will be brought back to court.
If I see you again, I will send you back to prison."
