Dad beat partner as he held onto his young daughter
JAILED AFTER HE ADMITTED CONTROLLING AND COERCIVE BEHAVIOUR
AN abusive dad held his young child in his arm while whipping his partner with a belt and calling her a whore during a bout of paranoia and controlling behaviour.
Istvan Molnar verbally and physically abused the woman over the course of several months because he suspected that she was cheating on him after they moved to Huddersfield from Romania.
Among other things, he installed a camera in a room the family rented in a house on Bentley Street in Lockwood and would verbally and physically abuse the victim if she left it.
Leeds Crown Court heard he also repeatedly burned her with cigars or cigarettes.
The 34-year-old was jailed for 16 months on Wednesday after pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. He pleaded guilty on the basis that he could not remember some of the incidents.
Prosecutor Deborah Smithies said the couple’s relationship began in Romania in 2012 and they had two children together.
She said the defendant moved to England to find work in 2017 and the victim and the couple’s two young daughters joined him in December 2018 with the victim leaving her eldest daughter behind.
The family lived together in a single room in a shared house and the defendant worked in a factory while the victim looked after the children, the prosecutor said.
She said: “Family life was initially happy but things took a turn for the worst in April 2019.
The defendant grew suspicious that she was having an affair. If she went outside for a smoke or was on her phone, he would express that suspicion.
“They would argue about it and things escalated in May 2019 when during an argument he slapped her and then punched her several times in the face, leaving a visible mark.”
After a conversation involving other family members, Molnar apologised and said he would not assault the victim again. But he installed a camera in the room, would use it to monitor what she was doing and would verbally and physically abuse her if she left the room.
On one occasion, he watched the footage and accused her of leaving the room while he was sleeping before taking a belt from the wardrobe. He beat her repeatedly with it, including the buckle, and called her a whore as he did so.
Their youngest child was at home poorly and screamed, saying: ‘Dad, don’t beat mum!’ “He picked her up and told her not to cry but continued to strike [the victim] with the belt in his other hand,” the prosecutor said.
“Eventually, he stopped and left. He returned several hours later and did not look at her.
“Although she was in pain, she did not seek any medical attention.”
The court was told the victim would try to avoid arguments by bringing plenty of food into the room so she would not have to leave it.
On another occasion, Molnar took her mobile phone off her so she could not contact her eldest daughter but it was unclear how long for.
On July 11 last year, she returned home from taking the children to school to find Molnar shaking with anger and accusing her of having an affair. He punched her twice in the stomach and pulled her hair before leaving the house.
A short while later, police and two social workers attended the house to conduct a welfare check as one of the children’s teachers had recently raised concerns after noticing the victim had bruises on both sides of her face.
The teacher had asked the child if her mum was okay and the child replied that her dad hit her mum while miming punches to the face.
After speaking to the victim, arrangements were made to move her to a refuge.
The defendant was contacted, returned to the house and was arrested. Molnar has no previous convictions in this country.
In a victim personal statement, the woman said she suffers from nightmares and anxiety as a result of the abuse. She said she feels anxious when she hears a motorbike because Molnar used to drive one and her scars are a permanent reminder of what happened to her.
The victim also said she is worried about the effect the abuse will have on her children.
Matthew Harding, mitigating, said his client continues to minimise his behaviour because he is paranoid that an affair took place and his children were not being taken care of, rather than out of disregard for his ex’s welfare.
He said Molnar wants to avoid a repetition of something that happened in his own childhood and has sought help to prevent this from happening again.
Mr Harding said there is no indication that the former couple will get back together.
He said Molnar has expressed remorse for the effect on his children and his contact with them - two video calls and one face-to-face meeting per month - is currently being monitored.
He described his client, who moved to Achilles Avenue, Orford, Warrington, after the offence, as a hard-working man who works night shifts as a Hermes delivery driver.