A drunken Northumberland man threw a glass into his girlfriend's face leaving her with permanent scarring.
Connor Cowen, 24, of Tenth Avenue, Blyth, admitted charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court last week.
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, an offence contrary to section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, has a maximum penalty of 26 weeks' custody on summary conviction; 7 years' custody on conviction on indictment.
Magistrates heard that Cowen and his then girlfriend were in a Blyth pub when they started arguing on the evening of Friday, 30th July 2021.
Tempers had become frayed and Cowen's girlfriend threw a small amount of wine at him.
Leslie Burgess, prosecuting, outlined the circumstances: "There was a small amount of wine in the victim's glass and she did empty it on the defendant.
"He then picked up a pint glass and threw it at [the victim] and it hit her in the face. She was in immense pain and there was blood running down her face.
"Bar staff took her outside. The defendant went and got in his vehicle. She knew he had consumed alcohol. She says the defendant gets in his vehicle and reverses it, on purpose, into hers."
Cowen's victim, who he had been in a relationship with for three years, required hospital treatment and has been left permanently scarred by the assault.
Cowen was subsequently arrested on suspicion of the assault and driving a vehicle with excess alcohol.
He provided an evidential specimen of breath containing 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, which exceeded the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes.
In a victim personal statement, the injured woman said: "Throughout my relationship with Connor my confidence was worn down by his constant manipulation and gaslighting.
"I became someone I didn't recognise. I became isolated from my friends and family."
Sophie Allinson, mitigating, said her client drove away from the scene in an effort to diffuse the situation. He had accidentally collided with his girlfriend's stationery vehicle.
She added: "The two parties were winding each other up and egging each other up in the pub.
"All of it was tit for tat. It's not the defendant who escalates the situation from a verbal argument to physical one as she swills the defendant, which is slang for throwing her drink over him.
"Had the defendant not behaved in the manner he did, the injured party could have been prosecuted. But, he picks up a champagne glass - he disputes it was a pint glass - in the heat of the moment and throws it."
Magistrates were of the opinion that the assault was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, given the circumstances of the case, they decided to suspend the custodial term.
In relation to the assault, Cowen was sentenced to 24 weeks' custody suspended for 18 months, with a 200 hours' unpaid work requirement.
He was also ordered to pay £1,820 in compensation to the injured party, £85 towards prosecution costs and £119 surcharge.
In relation to driving with excess alcohol, he was fined £1,188 and disqualified from driving for a period of 16 months.
There will be people reading this of the opinion that Cowen should have been immediately jailed for such a serious assault, so here is a reminder of the circumstances in which it might be appropriate for the court to suspend a custodial sentence.
An observation that I would make is that Cowen, who works for a fire protection company, is obviously in quite a well paid employment given the financial penalties imposed on him.
Immediate custody would probably but that well paid employment at risk, which could result in a downward spiral of ongoing criminality.
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