A man kicked his pregnant partner after knocking her to the floor leaving her with a suspected broken pelvis, a court has heard. Darren Nicholas also grabbed the woman by the jaw and forced his fingers into her mouth while screaming and shouting at her. The sickening assault happened while Nicholas was on bail having attacked a man outside a pub on New Year's Eve leaving him with complex facial fractures.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the domestic assault happened in Llanelli in March this year when an "agitated" Nicholas began shouting and screaming at his partner. He then grabbed the woman tightly by the jaw and pushed her head upwards before forcing his fingers into her mouth.
The court heard the defendant pushed the woman over and as she was on all fours on the floor Nicholas shouted: "F*** the baby – it's not mine anyway" before kicking her in the hip causing immediate pain. The prosecutor said the defendant pushed the woman , who was still on her hands and knees, out of the house. The woman tried to leave the scene in her car but the defendant went after her and opened the passenger door to try to grab her. He was carried along the road for a short distance "half in and half out" of the car.
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The court heard the woman later attended hospital with a suspected fractured pelvis but doctors decided it was unsafe to carry out an X-ray to assess the damage due to her pregnancy. The police were notified of the assault by a neighbour and Nicholas was arrested and interviewed. He gave officers a prepared statement in which he falsely blamed his dog and claimed his partner had fallen over after the dog ran past her. He accepted there had been a "purely verbal" argument between the pair but denied making any physical contact and denied kicking.
The court heard that at the time of the assault Nicholas was on bail having been arrested following an incident outside the Masons Arms pub in Llanelli on New Year's Eve when he and Daniel Williams had attacked another customer leaving their victim with "complex and multiple" fractures to his face. The pair also assaulted two people who had tried to intervene to stop the attack, including a pregnant woman.
Darren Nicholas, aged 36, of Park View, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm and to assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. The court heard he has a "varied antecedent record" including offences of violence, theft, harassment, and sending malicious communications.
Daniel Williams, aged 33, of Box Terrace, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault when he appeared alongside his co-defendant. He has two previous convictions for two offences.
Jon Tarrant, for Nicholas, said in the absence of drink and drugs the father-of-two was able to "see with more clarity" what he had done. Matt Murphy, for Williams, said his client was extremely remorseful for what happened outside the pub and he said the father-of-three wished to apologise to those affected by his behaviour on the night in question.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendants had been involved in an "ugly incident" outside the Llanelli pub when they had both attacked a fellow customer with Nicholas kicking their victim. He noted that in their interviews in regard to that assault both defendants had sought to "wriggle out of responsibility" for what they had done. The judge said while on bail for that offence Nicholas had then assaulted his pregnant partner.
With discounts for his guilty pleas Nicholas was sentenced to a total of two years and nine months in prison comprising 18 months for the pub incident and 15 months for the domestic assault to run consecutively. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Judge Thomas said in Williams' case having read the pre-sentence report he was satisfied there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation and the sentence of imprisonment could be suspended. Williams was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay the victim of the pub attack £1,000 compensation.
Speaking after the sentencing Dyfed-Powys Police detective sergeant Rebecca Thomas said: "I’d really like to commend the victim in this case for the bravery she has shown throughout our investigation. On top of dealing with her own injuries she has faced the threat that harm could also have been caused to her unborn baby, which is something no mother-to-be wants to happen. Reporting your partner to police is a daunting prospect but we have put support in place for the victim in this case and hope she feels safe knowing Nicholas will be in jail for the foreseeable future."
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic abuse visit the Live Fear Free website or call the helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
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