BLACKPOOL MAN JAILED FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AFTER REPEATED ASSAULTS ON PARTNER
A man attacked his partner repeatedly during lockdown, and then tried to blame the injuries on the dog.Craig Slaven, aged 51, had been in a 24-year relationship with the woman, which was mostly violence free, as reported in Preston Crown Court.
However, during the pandemic, his alcohol consumption increased, and he became violent, assaulting his partner on four separate occasions between February and June 2021.
The assaults included stamping on her head with his shoes and biting her.
When arrested for domestic violence, Slaven claimed that her injuries were self-inflicted, stating she had been headbutting the door, and also alleged that the dog caused the bite mark she sustained.
Despite this, he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge Simon Medland QC described Slaven as "like Bill Sykes, when full of drink he becomes a horrendous wife beater." The woman's mental health deteriorated due to the injuries, suffering sleep issues and dizzy spells.
She also felt vulnerable and unsafe at home, and avoided video calls with her children to hide her bruises.
Slaven has prior convictions for violence against two women.
His defense argued that he only started becoming violent towards women at age 40, after beginning to self-medicate with alcohol for unresolved childhood issues, and that lockdown worsened his substance problems.
He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, with a five-year restraining order to protect the victim.
Judge Medland emphasized that since 2013, Slaven's behavior had declined into drunk violence and that repeated attacks in a domestic setting are an aggravating factor.
