ABUSER JOSEPH PENNYCOOK JAILED AT SOUTHEND CROWN COURT
A man from south Essex who repeatedly threatened a teenage girl with a knife at her throat has been sentenced to prison after displaying no remorse for his pattern of violent and sexual misconduct.At Southend Crown Court, it was revealed that Joseph Pennycook repeatedly threatened to kill the girl by slitting her throat and claimed she was fortunate he hadn’t "punched the f***" out of her.
Jurors at his trial in Basildon saw a video recorded by the victim, showing her barricading herself inside a room as Pennycook violently kicked the door, causing it to fall off its hinges.
Judge Shane Collery KC commented, “It must have been terrifying.” Now 22 and residing on Danbury Close, Leigh, Pennycook also twice choked the girl, with records showing he held his hand over her mouth during these incidents.
He repeatedly held a knife to her neck on numerous occasions and committed sexual assault against her.
The court heard he kept a knife under his pillow and displayed other weapons.
After one choking episode, Pennycook told her, “I don’t know what came over me.
I just had to do it,” a comment the judge called “concerning.” The court heard that the now-adult victim was so profoundly affected by these experiences that she still suffers from panic attacks and fainting spells, reliant on beta blockers typically prescribed for severe health issues.
She described Pennycook as “psychotic,” expressing her fear that he will never comply with any court order to stay away from her.
He had flooded her with over 1,550 phone calls from anonymous numbers in just one month—more than 50 calls daily.
Judge Collery described Pennycook as “obsessive” and expressed certainty that he posed a threat to women, leading to an extended sentence for public protection.
During the sentencing, Pennycook’s uncle was ejected from court after displaying “unpleasant” behaviour towards the detective leading the investigation.
The uncle had previously caused a disturbance in court in March.
In a victim impact statement, the survivor stated Pennycook’s family continued to “enable” and “mitigate” his crimes, accusing her of wrongdoing and criticizing her online.
It is a criminal offence to identify the victim, as Pennycook was convicted of sexual assault by penetration, among other charges.
He was also found guilty following a six-day trial of two counts of intentional strangulation, harassment, coercive and controlling behaviour, and making threats to kill.
Judge Collery emphasized, “These are serious matters.
Anyone who listened to the evidence and your false statements during interview wouldn’t see it differently.
You are rightly described as dangerous to current and future partners… You have almost no insight into your actions.” The court was told that during his pre-sentence probation interview, Pennycook minimized his offences, showing “not a jot of apology” apart from the harassment.
The judge remarked there was “plainly no remorse” for the more serious crimes, which Pennycook continued to deny.
In mitigation, defence lawyer Andrew Horsell explained Pennycook has diagnoses of autism, ADHD, and conduct disorder.
However, the victim claimed Pennycook had boasted about lying during his assessments “so that he didn’t have to get a job,” and that he relies on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and other benefits, despite being unemployed since 18.
Pennycook had previous cautions for threats to kill, common assault, and criminal damage, as well as convictions for cannabis possession, driving under the influence of drugs, battery, and shoplifting.
His current partner and her mother submitted letters to the court, requesting a sentence no longer than 13 weeks, citing that Pennycook was expecting a baby in September and described him as “incredibly sweet, kind and caring.” Judge Collery rejected this characterization, questioning the wisdom of having a child “when you are facing trial for serious offences,” and stated, “That is not the evidence in this case.” He sentenced Pennycook to eight years in prison, with an additional two years on extended supervision.
