A teenage girl bravely confronted her bully stepfather before he retaliated by spitting at her and punching her in the face. Richard Slimings spat at his ex-partner's daughter before punching her in the face after she told him to stop shouting at her mother.
The girl's mother heard her scream before finding her in the bathroom covered in blood. The victim said the man she saw as a father figure "took my childhood away from me" as a result of the incident, which she said left her struggling to complete her education and suffering from anxiety and depression.
Court Hearing Details
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Slimings, 52, is currently serving a two-year prison term for stalking against his ex-partner, the victim's mother. Prosecuting, Pamela Kaiga told the court the defendant had been in a relationship with the victim's mother, with whom he shares a child, and acted as a father figure to his partner's two other children before the breakdown of that relationship.
The court heard that while the defendant was no longer in a relationship with the victim's mother at the time of the incident, he still had access to the home address of the victim. On September 9, 2023, Slimings' ex-partner and her children returned home after a family birthday party. The children's mother went to bed while they went to their own bedroom, the court was told.
The Incident
Ms Kaiga said the defendant arrived at the address at around 11.30pm and let himself in. While the victim was still in her bedroom she could hear Slimings shouting at her mum and calling her a "p*** head". The victim decided to intervene and tell the defendant not to speak to her mother like that, which resulted in Slimings spitting at the children before calling the victim a dog. The victim was 14 at the time.
She decided to go into the bathroom to wash and the defendant followed her, turning the tap off. The defendant then punched her in the face, catching the victim's nose which started bleeding. The mother woke up after hearing her daughter shouting and Ms Kaiga said she found her daughter in the bathroom with blood all over her. She called the police who arrived at the scene but the defendant had already left. He was arrested about a month later.
Victim Impact
Ms Kaiga read a victim impact statement to the court, in which the girl, who is now 17, said Slimings had been in her life for 10 years and it had initially seemed like she "got the father I have always wanted". She said that his behaviour began to change when her mum was pregnant with the child they share together. From this point she said he started to become controlling and would stop them from going to see other family. "It seemed like he held all the power," she said.
The victim said the night of the incident changed her life and has left her struggling to trust others, and suffering with anxiety and depression. "I was assaulted by the man who was supposed to protect me," she said. The court also heard that Slimings breached his bail conditions to contact the victim. In her victim impact statement, she said he tried to make her feel sorry for him and that no one would believe her in court. The victim added: "He has taken my childhood away from me. I will never recover from the trauma he has caused me and my family."
Sentencing
Slimings, of Creigau, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to assault by beating when he appeared in court for sentencing on Monday. The hearing was told he had been convicted of stalking against the victim's mother in August 2026, for which he was sentenced to two years imprisonment. He is currently serving that sentence at HMP Cardiff.
Defending, Rosamund Rutter told the court the offence in question happened in a similar timeframe to the offences against his ex-partner for which he is already serving a prison sentence. Ms Rutter said it was a "very sad situation" which had seen the breakdown of a relationship that had brought the defendant a period of stability. She said he wishes to serve his time in prison as a result of offending and move on with his life. The injury to the girl's nose has not caused any lasting physical injury to her, Ms Rutter added. The court was told Slimings is in very poor health.
Sentencing, Recorder Nick Owen-Casey said that Slimings had assaulted a 14-year-old child in her home while her sibling was present. "There's absolutely no excuse for the way you behaved on that occasion," he said. The court was told the defendant has 37 convictions for 113 offences between 1989 and 2025, consisting of theft and driving offences as well as two assaults. "You pay no adherence to the ordinary rules of society," the judge said.
Judge Owen-Casey said that while there has been no long-lasting physical injury, the victim impact statement shows that there is a long-lasting psychological impact. He said the victim saw him as a father but "you destroyed that trust on that evening". Slimings was sentenced to three-and-a-half months imprisonment to be served consecutively to the current sentence he is serving for the stalking charge. The judge said the sentence he imposed would have been longer had he not already been in prison. The defendant was also made subject to a six-year restraining order against the victim.
