A jealous thug who battered his girlfriend while she was babysitting his sister's two-year-old child has been jailed.
Philip Lennox, 25, attacked the woman after wrongly accusing her of cheating on him and even threatened to burn down the home of his own sister if the victim called police.
He repeatedly beat his partner during their toxic year-long romance, and on one occasion tried to throttle her in the street.
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The victim has since had to undergo counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and now suffers from social anxiety. She said she struggles to sleep, has lower self-esteem and her toxic affair with Lennox affected her relationship with her parents.
Lennox, from Shaw, Oldham, was jailed for 23 months on Monday (March 6) after he was convicted of non-fatal strangulation, assault by beating, assaulting occasioning actual bodily harm and threats to damage property. He denied wrongdoing.
The victim has since taken to social media to speak publicly about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Lennox.
In a post, the woman said: ''I did the bravest thing that I never thought I would be able to do and I went to court to make sure Philip Lennox got what he deserved and I also want to put it out there so that’s it is known of what he has done to me and others in the past as no one deserves to be treated like this.''
Lennox's own sister said: "I would like to say that Phil physically targets women, because he is a bully."
Minshull Street Crown Court heard Lennox and the woman had been in a relationship ''mired by incidents of violence.'' David Farley, prosecuting, told the court that the victim had met Lennox at a pub in Shaw town centre on the evening of October 1 of last year.
They left at about 8.30pm and Lennox began shouting at her, calling her a 'slag', the court heard.
"She was expecting it to develop into violence and asked if she could call a taxi home," said Mr Farley. "He grabbed her by her hair and dragged her up Alston Avenue.
"She began to scream, to try and attract the attention of people nearby. The defendant told her to stop or the police would come. She managed to break free and ran off.
“She got as far as traffic lights in Salts Street and stopped there to call a taxi but the defendant caught up with her. He took hold of her throat and began to squeeze."
Mr Farley told of how Lennox took his partner's phone and sat on her to prevent her from getting the attention of a passing police car. The woman managed to get away and went to Lennox's sister's house.
Police were called and attended the address. The court heard that Lennox still had his partner's phone and called his sister on it.
“He threatened to damage and set fire to her house if police were called," said Mr Farley. "Police heard those threats.
"The defendant was interviewed on October 19. He opted to make no comment. He gave a prepared statement denying matters.”
Mr Farley also told of an incident the previous March after Lennox was thrown out of a nightclub. Lennox's girlfriend was babysitting his sister's child at the time, the court was told.
“The defendant had been calling her on a withheld number before running through the door," he said. "He was shouting at her while the two-year-old child was on her knee.
"He accused her of seeing other men. He struck her twice to the head with such force that her head hit a wall."
Lennox, of Eden Way, Shaw, had previous convictions for possession of drugs, excess alcohol, and possession of weapons. He was given a suspended prison sentence of 16 weeks for wounding in 2019 and twice given 14 days in prison for breaching a domestic violence protection order in 2021 and 2022. He was also jailed for 12 weeks in August of last year for battery.
Mark Fireman, mitigating on behalf of Lennox, said: “A Valentines card was sent to him by the complainant while he was in custody, only a matter of weeks ago. Photos have been received earlier and to some extent this undermines what the complainant says about what she said in her victim statement.
“She has maintained contact with him and not the other way around. And she has sent affectionate letters and affectionate photos to him."
Mr Fireman said a pre-sentence report said that Lennox is “perhaps emotionally immature”, prone to jealousy and has low self-esteem, while having an inability to control himself which is aggravated when he has taken drink.
“That is not an excuse and drinking is seen as a statutory aggravating factor,” Mr Fireman said. “He is still a relatively young man. He has a lot of work to do to ensure relationships in the future don't follow the same pattern.
“He has work to try and get to the root of the problem, so that he finds himself in a position where a relationship can exist without feelings of jealousy and without resorting to physical violence against his partner.”
Mr Fireman said the incidents were brief and did not cause significant injury. The section 47 assault, he said “did not place him in his best light, especially when a child was present".
Recorder Michael Blakey also imposed a restraining order preventing Lennox from approaching or contacting either the victim or his own sister for five years.
“You have shown a pattern of aggression and violence towards women you come across - even your own sister," the judge added.
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