SKELMERSDALE MAN JAILED FOR WEEK-LONG IMPRISONMENT AND ASSAULT ON GIRLFRIEND
A serial woman abuser from Skelmersdale has been sentenced to prison after illegally restraining his partner for a week.Michael Bullen, aged 43, accused his partner of being a witch and claimed she had cursed him.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that he had physically assaulted her by stabbing her head with a cigarette, pouring hot coffee over her, and watching over her as she went to the toilet.
Bullen kept her captive in her bedroom for two days and then inside her flat in Plymouth for about five more days.
The victim confided to police that she feared she would be killed or raped at different times.
Judge James Townsend sentenced him to six years in prison on the Plymouth charges, with a minimum of four years before parole consideration, and an additional two-year sentence for crimes committed in Preston, to be served consecutively.
Bullen's previous offenses include convictions for assault dating back to 2003, with three prior convictions for assault causing actual bodily harm and a conviction in April for assaulting a previous partner.
The court also found him guilty of perverting the course of justice by threatening his victim and her mother to withdraw their testimonies.
The prosecution detailed that Bullen had punched his partner so hard that he dislodged a tooth and then strangled her, causing her to struggle to breathe, before fleeing to Spain after his trial and later returning to Plymouth to start a new abusive relationship.
During that relationship, he continued to act violently, slapping and punching her for minor issues, pushing her into a room and threatening her with a knife, and confining her to the bedroom, where he also insulted her by calling her a witch and burning her with a cigarette.
The victim only managed to escape after her landlord arrived.
Bullen has a history of violent behavior, with serious offenses of assault extending back to 2003, and was held on an extended sentence which means he will not be eligible for release until after four years, remaining on extended license for ten years afterward.
