Burglar kicked his partner in face after she reported him to police
JON MACPHERSON
ABURGLAR who punched and kicked his partner to the face after she ‘reported him to the police’ has been jailed.
David Francis, of Whalley Road, Clayton-leMoors, ‘belly-bounced’ the victim into her front door before punching her to the head, grabbing her by the hair and kicking her to the face, a court heard.
When she later tried to break up with him he bombarded her with dozens of phone calls and texts.
Father-of-four Francis pleaded guilty at Burnley Crown Court to ABH, common assault and harassment and separate offences of burglary. He was also found guilty after a trial of theft and fraud and jailed for 22 months and given an indefinite restraining order.
David Toal, prosecuting, told the court how Francis turned up at his partner’s house shortly after committing a burglary and found her hiding under a bed and calling the police.
The court heard how Francis was arrested and bailed and the next day he returned to the house and ‘accused her of betraying him’ to the police.
Mr Toal said she was ‘petrified’ and tried to escape but Francis ‘bellybounced’ her against the door before attacking her.
The court heard how Francis, 35, locked the front door before starting to ‘act normally as if everything was fine’ and saying he ‘shouldn’t have kicked her’.
Mr Toal said the victim was ‘putting on a brave face’ and told Francis that ‘it was her own fault she got assaulted’ and that she ‘still wanted them to be a family’.
The court heard how Francis and the victim carried on living together at the house for several more days until she told him they should break up.
The incident was reported to the police and the victim also revealed she had been attacked on another occasion two months earlier.
The court heard that he put his hands over her mouth and ‘ pinned her up against a cupboard’.
When Francis was arrested he was bailed with conditions not to contact the victim but then sent her 16 calls and 38 texts over several days.