A man deliberately spat in his ex-partner's face, called her a 'f****** rat' and sent threatening texts to one of her children.
Philip Courtney, 37, spat in the face of his ex-partner in front of two children on February 7, 2022. Courtney then carried on with his “disgusting” behaviour and was abusive to one of the two young teenagers.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how the three left and Courtney sent texts threatening one of the youngster's and the police were notified. He was arrested and when interviewed the next day denied the offence and was released under investigation, said Zahra Baqri, prosecuting.
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The day after the charge of assault by beating was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service - Courtney rang his former partner and shouted abuse at her, calling her “a liar” and “a rat.” He left a voicemail message in which his abuse included saying, ‘you are lying through your a….’ and ‘you are a disgusting piece of s***, f****** rat’.
He concluded: "I’m going to make you pay for what you have done, you f****** dog."
A week after appearing in court Courtney rang again and left a voicemail message to say he had pleaded not guilty. He said: “I will see you in court. I will wipe the floor with you.’ A few minutes later he left another threatening message including, ‘You’re absolutely f****** finished’ and went on to use a foul word to describe the girl he had previously verbally abused.
The same day he contacted the girl and asked her to write a message saying he had not spat at his former partner. She had already provided a statement to police supporting the victim’s account, said Miss Baqri.
In an impact statement the assault victim said she was physically shaken when she heard the voice mail messages and could not believe he had the cheek to contact her with the case ongoing. Courtney, of Bowring Park Road, Childwall, pleaded guilty to assault by beating and two offences of witness intimidation.
The court heard he has committed 11 previous offences including another assault by beating for which he received a community sentence.
The judge Recorder Peter Horgan said the defendant spat in his victim’s face and hair. The recorder said: "She said it was disgusting and you accept it was disgusting. There is really no other term for it.”
He said Courtney contacted the girl asking her to say he had not spat at his former partner. “You knew that was not true.”
The judge jailed him for a total of ten months. Julian Nutter, defending, said Courtney had successfully completed the community order in 2014 and has been in custody since the latest offences.
Mr Nutter said: "He has calmed down and he has shown remorse.” He added that the defendant was motivated to engage with professionals to get assistance.
Courtney, who appeared in court via video link from prison, is currently unemployed but has a job available to him as an energy surveyor, added Mr Nutter.
