Thug broke partner’s leg in two places in attack at flat
Man jailed for two-and-a-half years; judge said assault was ‘horrifying’
A thug who broke his partner’s leg in two places in a “horrifying”, drug-fuelled attack in the flat they shared in Scarborough has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.
Adam Askew, 22, stamped hard on the victim’s leg “three or four times” after punching her, grabbing her by the hair and pushing her to the ground.
The attack happened at the flat they shared in Scarborough, where Askew was smoking crack cocaine in the bathroom moments before he set upon the named victim, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Jade Edwards said the victim turned off the bathroom light to stop him and “pleaded with him to respect (her) property”.
He came out of the bathroom and punched her on the lip, before grabbing her by the hair. She tried to escape and phone her friend for help, but Askew “grabbed her, pushed her to the floor and (repeatedly) stamped on her left leg”, said Ms Edwards.
The victim was “screaming out” in pain but Askew, who was wearing trainers, ignored her and smashed her phone.
Terrified, the victim tried to leave the flat, but as she did so, Askew pulled out a Taser gun and said: “I’ll Taser you.”
Becoming increasingly weak due to her injuries, the victim fell down the stairs.
The following morning, the victim complained of excruciating pain in her leg and said she needed to go to hospital, but Askew wouldn’t let her “because they’d find out what he’d done”, said Ms Edwards.
“He refused to let her go (to hospital) and refused to let her get painkillers or medication, telling her it was just a strain and to simply ‘man it out’,” added the prosecutor.
The following day, the pain in her badly bruised leg became even worse and began to swell and turn blue.
“She (again) pleaded with him to take her to hospital, but he refused,” said Ms Edwards.
It was only when the victim’s friend told Askew that she should go to hospital that he relented, but on the way there he was “questioning (the victim) about what she was going to say”.
She told hospital staff she had suffered the injuries by falling down the stairs while carrying a bike.
She returned to hospital for an operation in which surgeons inserted metal pins into her ankle to support her shattered leg. She had suffered two
fractures to her shin.
The matters were ultimately reported to police and Askew was arrested.
He was taken in for questioning but initially denied the attack, even claiming the victim’s injuries were self-inflicted. His now “heartbroken” former partner said she was so traumatised following the attack on February 22 that she was unable to eat or sleep.
Askew, now of no fixed address, ultimately admitted causing grievous bodily harm and appeared at court last Wednesday after being remanded in custody.
Andrew Petterson, mitigating, said Askew had found his time on remand “very difficult” and asked judge Simon Hickey to suspend the inevitable prison sentence.
But Mr Hickey described the attack as “horrifying” and that it could have had even worse consequences if Askew had been wearing harder footwear. Jailing Askew for twoand-a-half years, the judge praised the victim’s bravery and resilience. Askew was also served with a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim, going to her home, or posting anything about her on social media.