Doncaster man assaulted girlfriend after stopping medication

Jamie Brown’s relationship with the woman began in March and was initially described as "perfect" before it deteriorated when he became possessive and jealous, prosecutor Holly Clegg said.

On June 3 he became angry and said: "Who the f*** have you been texting?" He hit her with the back of his hand and her face immediately swelled up.

She picked up her car keys and he followed her outside and threw something at her car.

"She was angry and tried to drive at him to scare him like he scared her," said Ms Clegg.

When the complainant went back to his flat he grabbed her, but a couple of men intervened and assaulted the defendant.

Two days later, she agreed to meet him and got a taxi to his home where they argued. He accused her of cheating on him and punched her to the right side of the head, just behind the ear. She begged him not to and he hit her again.

"She felt her eye had popped and her nose was bleeding," Ms Clegg said. "He told her to stop bleeding and shoved her head into the sink."

The next morning, she said her face couldn't take anymore, and Brown replied: "Don't make me do it then."

When he left the flat to buy food she fled.

Michael Cane-Soothill, mitigating, said Brown received 22 handwritten letters from the complainant while in prison which contradicted her victim statement.

He said: "He was sectioned in 2019 but has been engaging well with the mental health services. During the lockdown, he felt good and stopped taking his medication. He became paranoid. He didn't realise he was having a mental health crisis at the time."

Brown, 39, of Grove Place, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after initially denying them.

Judge Roger Thomas QC said Brown has already served the equivalent of a six month sentence.

He sentenced him to 12 months, suspended for two years, and ordered 25 rehabilitation sessions and the Building Better Relationships course. A two-year restraining order was also made.

Read the latest cases from Sheffield Crown Court here.

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