A woman said she was so used to being abused by her partner that it had ‘become the norm’. Stephen Pearson, 41, had been in a relationship with the woman for 25 years, throughout which he had been violent towards her.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that during one incident he hit her so hard over the head with a broomstick that it broke.
And in another incident, at a baby shower, he threatened to ‘chop’ another person up before driving his car towards a group of people outside the pub.
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He left with his partner and she was seen by a member of the public trying to get out of the car before Pearson, of Sale, grabbed her and punched her six to eight times. She eventually managed to get away.
Now, after pleading guilty to offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, dangerous driving and affray, Pearson has been jailed for three years and three months.
Prosecutor Craig MacGregor said that police first received a call in the early hours of April 21 this year reporting that Pearson was hitting the woman. After 30 seconds of knocking at the front door she appeared at the window, looking distressed, and told the officers: “He’s taken the keys and ran out the back, I can’t open the doors.”
The officer ran back to his car and drove around the block, finding Pearson at the rear of the house.
The woman later told the police that they had been at home watching boxing and drinking. Matters escalated when she went to the shop.
“She went to the shop for more alcohol and on her return Pearson became verbally abusive, then he became physically aggressive, pulling her hair, punching her in the face, the back of the head and then hit her over the head with a broomstick causing it to break,” Mr MacGregor said.
“She said she had tried to escape, and ran from the house but Pearson chased her, caught her and pulled her back into the house before locking her in.”
Pearson was arrested and bailed not to contact the woman and not go within 100 metres of her house.
However, on June 26, at the Gardener’s Arms in Timperley, both Pearson and the woman attended a baby shower. Captured on CCTV, Pearson was seen to push a different woman before leaving the pub, stating that he was going to ‘get a machete’.
Minutes later he came back with his hand in his jacket shouting: “I’m gonna chop you up, I’ll chop you up.”
He then got into his car and began driving at people who were standing outside the pub. After picking up his partner and driving away, he was seen by a witness chasing his partner as she tried to flee.
“Pearson gets out of the driver’s side and chases her onto the pavement, he grabs hold of her and she manages to shrug him off. She then ran past the witness’s car where Pearson grabbed her again, Mr MacGregor continued.
“He started banging the woman against the car whilst shouting at her before she went to the ground. The witness then sees Pearson punching her repeatedly, around six to eight times."
Pearson dragged the woman back, despite her resisting and eventually managed to get her back into the car. She could be heard crying and screaming, the prosecutor said.
Fortunately, she managed to get free and ran to a nearby pub where police were called.
She told officers that Pearson has always been violent - and it had become the norm.
In a statement to the police, she said she ‘knows this has to end but he always finds a way back into the house.’
Mr MacGregor read: “Pearson is obsessed with her and she is worried what will happen next. She no longer feels safe in his presence – especially when he is drunk."
The woman was left with injuries including two black eyes, clumps of hair missing and lumps to her face.
Police later attended at the woman’s address where Pearson’s car was on the drive. After knocking on he threatened: “Do you want to be stabbed?”
Firearms officers and dog handlers attended, and after two and a half hours, he was finally arrested after officers found him hiding in the loft. Pearson was said to have 20 previous convictions for 34 offences.
Defending, Constance Halliwell said Pearson accepted his behaviour was ‘appalling’ and regrets what happened. She added that he suffered from blackouts and memory loss following a previous incident where he was assaulted.
“There is a lapse of control over his behaviour and he was using alcohol as an escape and coping mechanism,” Ms Halliwell said.
Sentencing, Recorder Neil Usher said: “It’s accepted when you are sober you appear to have control over your behaviour. Your problem is when you are not sober and you continue to have this behaviour time and time again.
“Your record is appalling. This court considers you a high risk of serious harm to females, unless you overcome your problem with drink and loss of self control.”
Stephen Pearson, of Goodwood Avenue, was jailed for 39 months. He was also banned from driving for 31 months.
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