A man gripped a pregnant woman by the neck before blaming the incident on her hormones, a court heard. The altercation took place after the pair became embroiled in a parking row outside a pet shop.
The victim left Namas pet shop in Bolton to find her car had been blocked in by a van parked across the entrance of the car park. Kane Samms, 35, identified himself as the owner of the van when the woman asked inside the shop.
Court hears of parking dispute
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how she felt “uncomfortable with the way he had spoken to her”. After she asked Samms to move his van, he responded: “When you use your manners.”
The woman then said “please” and Samms claimed she had disrespected him, the Manchester Evening News reports. After asking him to move his van again, Samms called her a “little sl*t”.
Assault and police interview
Samms then walked up to her, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against a wall. She was frightened to fight back, fearing what Samms might do.
Prosecuting, Eddy Steele said that Samms would not have known the woman was pregnant, due to her being only eight weeks pregnant at the time, on November 24, 2023. The victim called the police. She attended the Royal Bolton Hospital, where doctors found she had not sustained any injuries, but she complained of soreness to her neck and the back of her head.
Samms was interviewed by police on December 19, 2023. He told officers the woman was “overreacting” and that “her response was likely due to her hormones”. Mr Steele said: “When asked why [she] would make up these allegations, he stated that it was because women are dramatic.”
Victim statement and sentencing
In a statement read to the court on her behalf, the woman said: “I don’t feel as if I could go back to the pet shop again. I felt angry that someone could treat me like that and just approach me and put his hands on me. You see things happen like this all the time, but when it happens to you it feels completely different, it’s shocking.” The court heard Samms has 10 previous convictions on his record for 13 offences, including assault.
Defending, Richard Flook said of the defendant: “He has demonstrated insight into his behaviour and is ashamed of what he did that day. There are no excuses for it.” He said Samms cares for his two children and that his previous convictions were of “significant age”.
Judge Neil Usher told Samms: “You behaved in a disgraceful manner towards this lady, who was simply making a perfectly civil remark about being blocked in. It seems to me you have a problem with your temper.”
Samms, of Tweedle Hill Road, Blackley, pleaded guilty to a single charge of assault by beating. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order, and ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work.
