County Durham man jailed for vicious domestic assault after child maintenance row

COUNTY DURHAM MAN JAILED FOR VICIOUS DOMESTIC ASSAULT AFTER CHILD MAINTENANCE ROW

A drunken man named James Sharpe viciously attacked his ex-partner after she arrived requesting £100 in child maintenance.

The incident escalated over multiple visits, during which Sharpe assaulted her, resulting in a broken finger and other injuries.

On July 23, his former partner went to his home to ask for maintenance, but he, under the influence of alcohol and crack-cocaine, responded violently.

He slapped her forcefully, causing bleeding from her lip, and later, uninvited, returned to her home on July 24.

There, he assaulted her again, damaging property by throwing a child's bike at the door and stamping on her phone to smash it.

Despite her attempts to escape, Sharpe chased her, kicking in her door, punching her multiple times leading to heavy bleeding, and stamping on her head and body.

Her mother, alerted by screams, intervened but was also punched by Sharpe.

The woman sustained injuries including a broken finger.

The police arrived, and Sharpe was arrested.

His defense argued that he is a good father when sober and that his behaviour was influenced by substance abuse.

However, Judge James Adkin described Sharpe as a "repeated domestic abuser" with previous convictions for harassment, common assault, and breach of a restraining order.

He was sentenced to 28 months in jail and placed under a 10-year restraining order.