how lond will he get under uk law for this assault?

Question

Yesterday I wnet to my sons fathers house to enquire where the child maintence has been for the last 2 weeks.
It was me ,me 1yr old son,him and his mother in the flat.
The argument became heated an ended up with him headbutting me and the grabbing me round the throat twice strangling me-his mother did nothing and unfortunatly my son witnessed everything.
I was left with bruises around my neck and a big slash and briuse on my upper chest.
Went to the police the took my statment also pictures of my injurys.Ive been advised to go to a doctors and have it logged which I will do tomorrow.
I will be going to court and certainly wont be retracting my statement.
Im 19 he is 25 I have no criminal record,he has one as long as his arm including assult on police officer.He was released from prison just 7months ago on assult including firearms -was convicted.has just finished probation for that.
Whats the likely hood of him getting a long sentance for this assult?It was unprovoked

also-I will he be remanded in custody until court?

Answer 1

God no, you wont be remanded in custody because youre not the one on trial! Right, what have we got here? ABH (s47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861) in my view. though that depends on the seriousness of the bruising and slash. According to the CPS charging standards examples of what constitutes ABH (that are relevant here) are 'extensive or multiple bruising, and minor cuts requiring stitching'. Obviously i cant judge that but if you think it is, i would say ABH.

ABH is just an assault and/ or battery and the natural consequences of that assault and/ or battery occasioning actual bodily harm. Natural consequences being further harm that is foreseeable to happen as a result. R v Roberts a man driving a car offered a lift to a stranger, who accepted. He, while driving touched her leg (Battery) in a suggestive manner. As a result she jumped out of the moving car fearing she would be raped or something. Obviously suffered fairly serious injury, and this was ABH.

IF he is charged with ABH (Which i very much doubt he will; regardless of how certain it is of ABH, the CPS will more than likely downgrade the offence to Assault and Battery) then it is a triable either way offence, meaning that he can choose whether the case is heard in the crown court or magistrates court. Each has their advantage and disadvantage. The magistrates court have a much higher conviction rate (around 89% i believe), ie he is more likely to get convicted at the magistrates court, BUT the maxmimum sentence the magistrates can pass is 1 year. If he went to the crown court, their conviction rate is below 50% but they can pass the maximum sentence for ABH which is 5 years. I would probably hope (although its up to him not you) that he goes to the magistrates because i dont think he will get much more than a year if it went to Crown. I could be mistaken, after all, hes clearly got a violent history. Obviously a solicitors view will much more informed than mine (only being a law strudent rather than a lawyer).

If, as i think they will, the CPS downgrade it to assault and Battery, he'll only be able to be heard in the magistrates court.

Sort of dancing around the bush abit, but to answer your question; how long will he get under uk law for this assault, my guess (which as I say i am only a student so this carries no weight) is that he will get the full year should it be tried in the mag. court, regardless of whether he is charged with ABH or Assault and Battery. If he is charged with ABH and choses to be heard at the Crown Court (assuming he actually gets convicted) the judge will take into account his violent history, and I think he would get two years, maybe 3 depending on the judge.

Answer 2

It will depend on what defence his solicitor uses. Unfortunately they will probably claim it as a domestic and treat it lighter than if you had been a stranger that he had attacked. Even with his history (they cannot bring that up in court) he will probably get a fine and an injunction from coming near you.

I personally would rather do without the money then put my child in that situation. There is a lot of help out there if you want it a child's psychological well being is worth a lot more than the latest toy or newest clothing. I would rather (and have ) shop in charity shops then ask an ex like him for money. I would rather he had no involvement in my life.

Answer 3

My heart goes out to you on this even if you did put yourself knowingly in a difficult position with a man who has that kind of track record. He is a violent , serial offender and will probably live a long life of crime and punishment. He may change as he gets older but only if he manages to deal with the hate and anger he displays to the world in general.

He has a bad track record ... assault with firearms are very serious charges and he will get treated accordingly on this occasion. As for a long sentence? He will certainly get a custodial sentence I suspect, but the matter will comedown to evidence in court ... was he provoked, will his mother testify against him etc. Your evidence and proof of injuries is vitally important here. Whatever sentence he gets, you must take solace in that but more important look forward to a safer and more sensible future by keeping clear of this man but having any necessary contact done only under safe chaperone in a public area.

I wish you and your son well.

Answer 4

Hi Lisalee,

Sorry to hear this has happened to you.

It is a matter for the magistrates in the first instance to remand him in custody. You need to stress to the prosecution that you fear reprisals from the defendant if he is on bail and they will possibly object to bail. Normally if the prosecution object to bail, the defendant is remanded in custody.

As to what sentence he faces depends on what he is charged with and the amount of previous convictions for violent crime.

There may be a possibility of a life sentence if he is charged with and convicted of assault occasioning grievious bodily harm. (Offences Against the Person Act 1861 section 18.)

It is all up to the judge.

good luck.

Answer 5

This is technically an assualt occasioning actual bodily harm but could be reduced by the police when charging if they think its likely to encourage a guilty plea.If it proceeds as ABH than hopefully taking into account his previous he may get a spell inside but it is hard to determine how long without the full facts.

Answer 6

By the sound of it, your ex is probably out on 'license' from prison, I believe he may be recalled to finish off his previous sentence, then face charges for grievous bodily harm to you and serve time for this latest despicable attack on you and your child. Like many readers of this post I hope the authorities throw the key away. I can only imagine that his mothers lack of help was born out of fear of him..sounds a really nasty piece of work.
Approach the criminal injuries compensation people, they will give you support and advice..good luck.

Answer 7

I hope they throw the book at him. It is likely that he will receive a custodial sentence for this. I suggest you contact a good solicitor and take him/her along with you to court. People like this cannot be allowed to get away with this sort of behaviour so stand strong, thugs like this should not be out in the world with the rest of us, they belong behind bars.
I suggest you never go round to his place again alone.
Hope you recover soon and good luck. Try to put this unfortunate experience behind you.

Answer 8

depends on the judge mate to be honest with you it seems serious it will probably take 8 to 12 months to get processed knowing these court systems then depending on how lenient the judge is feeling on the day is what will happen. his record doenst look against him so i would say it is very likely hell get a long sentece but my estimates would be 2 to 5 years

Answer 9

should be locked up indef, but the great laws in the uk means he will prob get a couple of years with probation after 6 months and he will do it to someone else, move away from the area, loose contact asap. get your money through the proper authorities. good luck

Answer 10

hopefully he'll get a long time and gets what hedeserves abused in prison and when he does comeout his son wants nothing to do with him scum like that should be locked up forever and his mother will hopefully never enjoy seeing her grandson coz you wont let her what a nasty cow lets just hope he gets one hell of a kicking inside