Recent weeks have seen many North East men who subjected women to degrading behaviour dealt with at court. Many have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, with restraining orders imposed to protect their victims. Some caused serious injuries through horrendous violence, while others controlled aspects of their victims' lives. All have left their victims terrified, with some fearing for their lives.
Captive victim saved by passer-by
A woman held captive by Peter Robinson and subjected to weeks of regular beatings was saved when a passer-by recorded her screams and sent them to police. When officers raided Robinson's bedsit, there was blood on the mattress, carpet and walls, and the victim had a burst lip, black eye, redness around her neck and a swollen jaw. Newcastle Crown Court heard she told police: "I thought I was going to die, thank you."
Robinson, 40, of The Royalty, Sunderland, who has previous convictions for violence and was out on licence from a six years and nine months sentence for robbery, admitted false imprisonment and controlling and coercive behaviour. He was jailed for six years and three months, with a three-year extended licence, and a judge branded him a "controlling and violent bully".
Brute kicked ex-partner in head
Liam Hunt kicked his ex-partner in the head as she sat cowering on the floor of her utility room. Hunt, who has a past conviction for harassing another former girlfriend, had turned up at the victim's address demanding to know who she had got a lift home with. The frightened woman let the 26-year-old inside, but he repaid her by "smashing the place up", a court was told. The victim fled to her utility room and crouched in the corner, but Hunt followed and kicked her in the back of the head, prosecutors said.
He left the scene in Ashington, Northumberland, but returned shortly after and smashed the woman's front door, causing £750-worth of damage. Hunt, of Ridgeway, Ashington, was arrested and given a 22-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Tyneside thug spat at officer
Brandon Tait violently attacked his partner in the street before spitting in the face of an arresting police officer. Tait was seen kicking his then-partner in the face in a Wallsend street during a disturbance lasting around half an hour. The 30-year-old was also aggressive to officers at the scene and spat in the face of one of them, then told a female officer he hoped she would "get raped". He was sentenced to 13 months prison, suspended for two years, with 100 hours unpaid work and a two-year probation requirement.
Craig Armstrong kicked and stamped on his partner in Newcastle city centre before biting the Street Ranger who caught him. Armstrong began attacking his girlfriend on Northumberland Street before being chased by an NE1 Street Ranger and assaulting him. After being released on police bail, he attacked his partner again after she told him their relationship was over, stamping on her while calling her derogatory names. He was sentenced to 24 months prison, suspended for 24 months, with a six-month alcohol treatment programme, a six-month mental health treatment programme, and a two-year probation requirement.
Axeman and strangler jailed
Abuse victim Natasha Holland detailed her terrifying experience of being attacked by her "evil" ex-partner Mark Hardy, who threatened to kill her while wielding an axe. Natasha had recently split from Hardy when she went out to celebrate a friend's birthday, and on returning to her farmhouse in Northumberland, found him waiting for her. He demanded to see her phone, and after finding a text from a concerned friend, launched a vicious assault. Natasha recalled: "He beat me, I was unconscious to one blow and I remember touching the floor and feeling really spaced out. He was laughing at me, spitting in my face, calling me horrible words."
Hardy, 29, of Chantry Estate, Corbridge, pleaded guilty to strangulation, assault and criminal damage in relation to the incident last July. He was sentenced to three years and two months in prison at Newcastle Crown Court in January, and handed a 15-year restraining order.
A woman who lost consciousness during an assault by her former partner Liam Lloyd said: "I thought he was going to kill me." Lloyd and the woman had dated between August and December 2023, and in March 2024, he went to her home late one night. She let him in, but they argued and he grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the floor, causing her to bang her head and lose consciousness. She woke in the early hours of the following morning and was vomiting, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Lloyd, 26, of Elizabeth Diamond Gardens, South Shields, who has seven previous convictions including battery and possessing a knife, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced to nine months suspended for 15 months with 100 hours unpaid work and a mental health treatment requirement, and given a ten-year restraining order.
