Man is jailed after attack on girlfriend
A MAN stamped on and kicked his girlfriend less than a month after she gave birth to their daughter, a court has heard.
Anthony Richardson, 32, also slapped partner Olivia Morse the day before she gave birth as well as ripping up her baby scan and making her sleep without a blanket if she refused to have sex with him.
Yesterday Cardiff Crown Court heard Richardson attacked his girlfriend multiple times at her home in Barry in a onemonth period after the birth of their daughter in early October 2019.
This included slapping his victim the day before she gave birth – leaving her with a bloodshot eye that she later lied she sustained during childbirth.
During the hearing Thomas Stanway, prosecuting, said on November 3 last year Ms Morse fell to the floor during a struggle before the defendant “stamped all over her body”.
Mr Stanway said: “At one point she thought she had sustained a broken leg. Even though she was upset and crying the defendant continued to stamp on her.”
On November 6 Richardson slammed his partner’s head against a car door while on November 13 she described how he fly-kicked her, hitting her arm.
His actions culminated in a “sustained” attack the following day where he grabbed his victim by her hair, dragged her into the bedroom, and punched her repeatedly with both hands.
In a victim personal statement summarised in court Ms Morse said: “When Anthony hits me I feel it’s never going to stop.
“I don’t want people to see the marks and bruises I have on my body as a result of Anthony. When Anthony and me go to the shops I stay in the car.”
In a second statement she added: “I am the one being punished. I have had to leave my home with my kids while he stays in the same area.
“I am constantly looking over my shoulder. I feel he will never leave me alone. I will not go back to him. My baby has saved me and I just feel so guilty I left it this long before leaving him.”
Rhodri Chudleigh, defending, said the couple had been together for around eight months before she became pregnant.
He said during the relationship Richardson had been in financial difficulty after an issue with his previous employment and that the stress, combined with the pressure of caring for a newborn, “got on top of him”.
Mr Chudleigh said: “He acknowledges there is no justification but these things got the better of him.”
The hearing was told Richardson continues to send financial support to his daughter as well as helping his sister who is also a single mother.
Ahead of the hearing, Richardson, of Edward Street, Barry, pleaded guilty to one count of controlling and coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.
Sentencing him, Recorder Simon Mills said it was clear Richardson had meant to “control and hurt” his victim.
He said: “I am mystified as to why you resorted to violence against Miss Morse so frequently and so easily. It was a point of almost first resort rather than a last resort.”
Richardson cried in the dock as he was handed a 12-month immediate prison sentence. He was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order stopping him from contacting his victim.