A man punched his girlfriend so hard that he left her with injuries normally only seen in car crash victims.
Daniel Dolan flew into a rage after his partner challenged him over messages she had found on his phone from a woman he had had an affair and fathered a child with. When the victim responded to his blows by tipping his breakfast over him, he attacked her with such ferocity that she suffered a ruptured spleen - leaving her in pain which she described as "worse than childbirth".
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that the 34-year-old and Simone Williams had been together "for some time" and have a child together. But Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, said that Dolan had also been seeing another woman - whom he also went on to have a child with.
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On the morning of October 28 last year, Ms Williams saw messages on his phone from the love rival which were "critical of her". She confronted him over the texts and an argument ensued.
During this altercation, Dolan - of Egerton Avenue in Padgate, Warrington - "snatched" the mobile from her and began punching her in the head. He then stopped his assault and sat down at a table to have breakfast, but Ms Williams emptied his plate of food into his lap.
The defendant responded by punching her to her back, below the ribs. She fell to floor, and Dolan then put his foot on her back and pulled her up by her hair before pushing her face back down onto the floor.
He shouted into her ear "not to be so dramatic and to get up" before Ms Williams crawled away, managing to flee upstairs. She described her pain as "worse than childbirth" and called 111 herself, telling the operator she had fallen downstairs after her attacker refused to phone for an ambulance.
Once Dolan was out of earshot, the victim told the call handler she had been assaulted. While an ambulance was dispatched to their home, he told her to cancel it and said he would take her to hospital later in the day.
After being taken to Warrington Hospital, it was discovered that Ms Williams had sustained a grade three rupture to her spleen which "could be life-threatening". This fortunately healed after treatment, although she remained in hospital until November 1.
Mr Gibson stated that this injury was "most commonly seen in cars accidents", one which "can be caused by an assault but less commonly, as it would require a significant amount of force" similar to that of a rugby tackle. Dolan was arrested on October 29, giving a prepared statement under interview in which he said he had "never assaulted the complainant in the manner described".
The abuser was previously convicted of battery and criminal damage in 2016, in which Ms Williams was also the complainant. On that occasion, he throttled his then pregnant partner in a "nasty incident" and later breached a community order he was given by magistrates.
Self-employed builder Dolan is understood to be a well-known musician in the Warrington area. Sarah Badrawy, defending, told the court: "He knows he needs to be punished. Mr Dolan has indicated his remorse and recognition of his actions. This was an extremely nasty incident.
"If he could change what he has done, he would. This incident was borne out of a bad situation created by him.
"He thought he had put that type of behaviour behind him. He has had time to reflect on his actions and he is deeply ashamed of what he has done.
"He has always been a working man. He acknowledges that this relationship is at an end, and it needs to be.
"His main focus is his children. He has been an excellent father, and he wants to get back to that."
Dolan admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm during an earlier hearing. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for 40 months.
Sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: "You completely lost your temper, resulting in your violent attack on her. The blow must have been ferocious, because it resulted in the rupture of her spleen.
"That type of injury is typical of those seen as the consequence of a motor vehicle accident, where there is localised extreme force to a particular point. That blow, delivered by you, must have been very significant.
"It is unbelievable that any reasonable person would inflict that type of violence on a defenceless woman in her home, causing the sort of injury you did. You badly assaulted her, causing her a very serious injury which could have been life-threatening.
"I accept you now deeply regret what you have done and that you have insight into the problems you have and your tendency to sometimes lash out against partners. I accept your genuine desire to address that aspect of your personality."
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