MAN WITH 57 CONVICTIONS JAILED FOR ASSAULTING GIRLFRIEND AT LIVERPOOL HOTEL
A man named Ronnie Whitby, aged 29, was involved in a domestic abuse incident where he trapped his girlfriend at the Adelphi Hotel located in Ranelagh Street, Liverpool.Whitby refused to let his partner, Claire Mawdsley, leave their hotel room and assaulted her, hitting her in the face and inflicting two black eyes during a drunken rage.
The court proceedings revealed that Whitby had a long history of violent behavior, with 57 previous convictions for 90 offences including robbery, assault, harassment, and battery.
The incident was triggered by Whitby suspecting Mawdsley of sleeping with other hotel guests, which he verbalized during the assault.
Mawdsley managed to persuade Whitby to go to Lime Street Station, where she locked herself in a bathroom and called for help after security staff and a station worker heard her crying.
Police arrived, observed injuries including bruises and blood from nosebleeds, and confirmed her injuries with photographs.
Whitby later claimed to a witness that he punched Mawdsley after she headbutted him, causing her further injuries.
He was arrested on March 10 after checking himself into Broadgreen Hospital as a voluntary patient.
Whitby failed to attend court in December, resulting in a warrant for his arrest, and he was later apprehended in the Midlands in January.
Today, Whitby appeared via video link from HMP Preston, admitting to assault causing actual bodily harm and failing to surrender to court.
The court noted his convictions dating back to 2003, including juvenile robbery and assault, with subsequent sentences such as detention in a young offenders institution in 2010 and further convictions of harassment and battery in 2015 and 2016, including attacks on Mawdsley.
His behavior was described as unacceptable, especially given his mental health issues, which include paranoid schizophrenia, ADHD, and PTSD from witnessing his father's murder.
The judge stated that the motivation for the assault was Whitby's suspicion, under the influence of alcohol, that Mawdsley had seen another man, which led to the sustained attack.
Whitby was sentenced to 18 months in prison, including one month for failing to surrender, and a two-year restraining order was imposed against him.
