RHYL MAN JAILED FOR VIOLENT ATTACKS ON PARTNER
Update 02/06/2026: Man from Rhyl was sent back to prison within weeks of being released after breaching his domestic abuse protection order (DAPO).John Atherton, 39, of East Parade, was jailed for two-and-a-half years last October, having admitted threatening with an offensive weapon and two counts of actual bodily harm.
He also made threats to harm Stephanie Hall, and himself, having been in a relationship with her for about two years.
Atherton was released on licence in April, only to then breach his DAPO by making contact with Ms Hall.
The defendant pleaded guilty to breaching the DAPO, and was sentenced to a further six months’ imprisonment.
He was also ordered to pay a statutory surcharge of £154.
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A man from Rhyl, aged 39, received a custodial sentence of 30 months for his involvement in two assaults on his former partner.
John Atherton from East Parade appeared at Mold Crown Court on his birthday and pleaded guilty to charges of causing actual bodily harm twice, along with possessing a knife.
The court heard how Atherton dragged his partner by her hair, struck her multiple times, and made threats involving knives during alarming episodes in December and April.
During the first incident, he punched her and then told her to stay down, adding, "I'm going to put a f****** pickaxe through your head, you little rat." In the second episode, he brandished a knife near her chest, headbutted her, and broke her car window while she tried to escape.
She was pursued in his work van to Rhyl Police Station, where officers found her bleeding, with glass shards on her and only dressed in a T-shirt and pajama shorts.
When arrested after a short chase, Atherton remarked that he was "just heartbroken" and warned against cheating partners.
The woman affected by the attacks now suffers from nightmares, flashbacks, and PTSD.
Additionally, a five-year Domestic Abuse Protection Order was imposed on Atherton by Judge Rhys Rowlands.
