MAN JAILED FOR COERCIVE AND CONTROLLING BEHAVIOUR AGAINST PARTNER
A woman in her 40s from Wirral, who was subjected to prolonged abuse, has expressed that she finally feels heard after a man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.The court heard that James Scriven was sentenced to two years and nine months for engaging in coercive and controlling conduct.
An additional month was added to his sentence as a consequence of a previously suspended sentence from 2022, which was activated due to an assault against the same woman.
Additionally, a 10-year restraining order was issued by the court to protect the victim and her three children from Scriven.
The 37-year-old, residing at Three Rivers Caravan Park on Moor Lane in West Bradford, pleaded guilty to the charges in Preston Crown Court in March.
It is believed he has connections to Ellesmere Port and Wirral.
He was jailed at the same court on June 11, leaving his victim feeling ‘like I can breathe again’.
She said: “I do feel like I’ve received justice, in a way, because he put me and my children through so much abuse over the years.
“I minimised it for years and years and it wasn’t until I realised that this wasn’t right and shouldn’t be happening, that I reported it.
“I thought he was going to get a suspended sentence because he got one when he assaulted me in 2022.
“So when he got a custodial sentence on Thursday, I felt like I could breathe again and that I got my life back.
“This is not about winning or losing, this is about the right thing being done because he did these awful things which were called by the judge ‘sustained abhorrent attacks on a vulnerable person’.
“I was vulnerable because he attacked me while I was breastfeeding, while I was holding our child, while my other children were present.” The victim added that her relief of seeing her abuser brought to justice is tempered by an online smear campaign.
She said: “He was a bully, constantly, so it is good to be validated in the way that I was in court with his prison sentence and the 10-year restraining order for me and my children.
“I felt the CPS really advocated for me on the day.
“I feel like I can move on with my life but there is a smear campaign starting up.
“That’s a bit disheartening – I thought it was over because he pleaded guilty and he’s been convicted and been sent to prison.
“He can’t come near me and my children for at least a decade because he’s a risk to us – my children have been victims too.
“People will know I have been a strong person with boundaries and I am the most unlikely victim for this.
“It goes to show that how potent and manipulative certain tactics are to wear a person down.
“This is confirmation to those people who say otherwise that unfortunately for them, a person in their life is a convicted domestic abuser.
“They need to accept that, whether they’ve also been duped to think that I was the aggressor or that I concocted it all.
“If not, then they’re enablers or facilitators because it doesn’t tell the story of how it happened.
“I want to thank the judicial system for hearing me and validating me.”
