A drunken Gloucestershire man has narrowly avoided prison after punching his pregnant sister's baby bump.
Gareth Frost, 29, of Selwyn Close, Ryeford, Stonehouse, admitted a charge of assault by beating when he appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 24th November 2020.
Magistrates heard that Frost had gone to visit his sister, who was 15 weeks pregnant on 31st October 2020 when the offence took place.
When he arrived at her Stroud home he was drunk and she turned him away, which caused him to lose his temper.
Graham Dono, prosecuting, described how the situation escalated.
"He (Frost) started shouting at his sister in the doorway," said Mr Dono.
"She told him to leave. Frost then lifted his left arm and clenched his fist. His sister managed to grab hold of his arms and hold them down.
"Frost then started shouting at her partner and swinging his arms at the pair of them. Frost went to hit his sister but she managed to deflect a punch to her face.
"He then retaliated by punching her in the stomach. He told her 'I don’t care if you are pregnant' and continued to hit her. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time.
"At that point Frost picked up his bag and left. He was arrested by police the following day and had no recollection of what had happened that night. He said he doesn’t remember hitting his sister."
Gemma Walsh, mitigating, told Magistrates that her client had been battling an alcohol problem. This was being addressed by an existing community order.
Ms Walsh said: "He has unfortunately returned to drinking again. He accepts that his sister would not tell untruths and has no reason to doubt her version of events.
"However, since his arrest he has heavily reduced his alcohol intake to the lowest it has been for many years.
"He is utterly embarrassed and ashamed of his actions and devastated that he hit his sister in the way he did.
"Should he be offered unpaid work it would be a way a reminding him of his responsibilities and give something back to the community."
The court heard that Frost had engaged well with the Probation Service, notwithstanding the offence at hand.
After careful consideration Magistrates determined that the offence was serious enough to warrant a community order.
Julia Hurrell, Presiding Justice, told Frost: "This was a particularly vicious and unkind attack on your sister. She shouted at you to stop, but you ignored her. You knew she was pregnant.
"As a punishment there will be 24 month community during which you will have to complete 120 hours of unpaid work, and attend 30 days thinking skills programme."
Frost was also ordered to pay £85 towards prosecution costs and £95 victim surcharge.
There is no mention of compensation, so presumably the bench thought it inappropriate in the circumstances.
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