A 23-year-old man has been jailed for four years and six months after subjecting his pregnant girlfriend to a campaign of violence and abuse, including threatening to 'boot the baby out of her'. Brandon Fitzgerald, of Grimsby, admitted five offences at Grimsby Crown Court, including coercive and controlling behaviour, assault causing actual bodily harm, and intentional strangulation.
The court heard that between September last year and February this year, Fitzgerald attacked his partner on multiple occasions. During one incident in a hotel room, he strangled her to the point where she could not breathe. On another trip, on 7 February, he punched her five times and attempted to kick her in the stomach after shouting that he would 'boot the baby out of you'. The woman fled to a nearby restaurant, where an ambulance was called, and was later treated at Hull Royal Infirmary for injuries to her eyes, ribs, and a broken tooth and nose.
A midwife reported that it was 'the worst injuries she had seen in a victim of domestic abuse'. The victim later miscarried, although there was no evidence to suggest Fitzgerald had caused it. In a victim impact statement read to the court, she described Fitzgerald as a 'monster' and said she had been living in a 'nightmare' that she could not escape from. She added: 'I once loved Brandon. I am a victim of domestic abuse. But now I am a survivor.'
The court also heard that Fitzgerald had 10 convictions for 24 offences, many of them for violence. His defence barrister said he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, had suffered trauma in his life including the loss of his father, and had assisted in preventing a fellow inmate from taking his own life while on remand.
Recorder Walker told Fitzgerald that his conduct was designed to 'humiliate and degrade' the victim and amounted to a prolonged assault. He imposed a 10-year restraining order, prohibiting Fitzgerald from contacting the woman directly or indirectly. As she left court, the victim said: 'Thank you judge.'
