Woman hit 38 times in a ‘wicked’ assault on doorstep
AMAN punched his neighbour and occasional sexual partner 38 times as she lay on the floor at his feet, a court has heard.
Mark Caffrey repeatedly struck the woman on the doorstep of his house and made disparaging comments to her following an argument between the pair. In sentencing, a judge told Caffrey, 57, that his behaviour had been “wicked” and only immediate prison was appropriate.
Harry Dickens, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court the assault took place at Caffrey’s house in Newtown in Powys in April this year, and the victim was a neighbour with whom the defendant would, on occasions, have sex. He said that on April 11 the woman realised she had left her mobile phone at the defendant’s house following an earlier row between the pair, but when she went to retrieve the device Caffrey refused to return it.
An argument broke out on the doorstep and the defendant attacked his neighbour, repeatedly punching her as she lay on the ground while calling her names and asking her if she “wanted more”. At one point Caffrey was heard to shout at his victim: “I don’t want to kill you, I just want to hurt you.” The prosecutor said that, based on an examination of footage from a video doorbell, police officers had counted a total of 38 punches thrown by Caffrey during the assault.
The victim eventually managed to flee from the defendant and called police. When officers arrived the woman was described as being in “extreme distress” and had “significant” bruising and swelling to her face. When Caffrey was arrested he abused and swore at police officers, and he called the victim a “crazy b **** ”.
The woman was taken to hospital where she underwent a CT scan but no brain swelling or bone fractures were found. In her impact statement, which was read to the court, the victim said she had only ever been a friend to the defendant, and she said she had never been so terrified as she was when Caffrey was attacking her.
Mark Caffrey, of Lon Glanyrafon, Newtown, Powys, had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
He has 19 previous convictions for 55 offences including affray, public order matters, and three ABHs.
Matt Murphy, for Caffrey, said there had been a significant gap of 13 years since the defendant’s last conviction, and he said a pre-sentence report had recommended the defendant complete a building better relationships programme to address the issues which led to the April incident.
Recorder, Simon Mills, told Caffrey his behaviour towards the woman on the day in question had been “wicked”, and that the offending was so serious only a sentence of immediate custody would be appropriate.
The recorder said the sentence after trial would been one of 30 months in prison – with a one-third discount for his guilty plea Caffrey was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
The defendant will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.