50-YEAR-OLD MAN JAILED FOR ASSAULTING YOUNG BOY AND THREATENING PARTNER
A man who threatened to kill his partner on her birthday went onto strangle and bite her young son.Mark Place told his then-partner to "just go and die" because he was angry that she had spent time with her children to celebrate her birthday in July 2021, before calling her fat and criticising her for not cooking him dinner.
When her son tried to stand up for her, Place put his hands around his neck and lifted him off the floor before biting him on the nose.
He then shouted "I will knock your teeth out if you don't shut up", Derbyshire Live reports.
When the woman's 23-year-old son then entered the room, Place threatened him and chased him down the street before turning to his partner and shouting "you are next", saying he would kill her.
Stefan Fox, prosecuting, told Derby Crown Court on Tuesday, March 8, that prior to the incident, Place's partner had gone out shopping with her children, which angered him.
The 50-year-old then posted on social media to say his partner had "left him just like his ex" and texted her sarcastically asking if she was having a good time.
The assault took place around 7:30 pm after the woman and her children returned home, with Place heard smashing items upstairs before the attack.
Following the incident, which a neighbour called the police, Place changed his tune and apologised, promising to "make it up to them" prior to his arrest.
The relationship ended at the end of July, shortly after, but the child has been left "deeply affected and traumatised" and prone to "violent outbursts" as a result, the judge said in sentencing.
Place then entered a relationship with another woman but in December last year was sentenced to two years in prison for throwing a metal stool at her during a drunken row last October, before these offences were revealed.
He has 22 convictions for 55 offences and pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm against the young boy and threatening behaviour against his former partner.
Julia King, mitigating, told the court that Place is dealing with long-standing alcohol issues in prison and does not seek to deny his history of harm.
She highlighted his anger management and alcohol problems, noting he is now working as a prison liaison representative.
He is currently serving an additional year in prison, and the judge emphasized the severity of his actions, stating "despite his intelligence, he has an appalling violent record" and "behaviour like this can't be tolerated." He was handed a 12-month consecutive sentence for assault and a three-month sentence for threatening behaviour, as well as a five-year restraining order against the woman and her children, and must pay a victim surcharge.
