A thug who punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and hit his own baby has walked free from court with an order to work on his drinking problem. Mark Bond drunkenly attacked his expectant partner before assaulting her again shortly after she gave birth.
The brute struck her as she held their two-week old daughter, with some of the blows hitting the tiny newborn, the Liverpool Echo reports. Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that 31-year-old Bond had been in a relationship with his then-girlfriend for around six months when he turned up at her house on May 27 last year.
He "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol", according to prosecutors, slurring his words. The couple argued over his drinking but the day was otherwise "uneventful," prosecutor Louise Santamera said – until Bond, from Runcorn, demanded that his ex cook his dinner.
He then punched her in the legs and stomach and, in a twisted move, pushed down on her midriff with his fists, causing her "extreme pain". He then said he was leaving and began packing a bag, before pushing her and threatening to burn down the house.
The savage assault then continued as Bond headbutted his former partner and grabbed her by the neck, before punching a wall and leaving, breaking the door by slamming it. Thankfully, the child was not harmed by the assault, and Bond was arrested at his home address, after which he admitted drinking a bottle and a half of wine before arriving at the house.
He had denied assaulting her – but on January 14, while at her house again, he became angry and began attacking their French bulldog before turning his attention to her as she held a child. He began swinging his fists, striking her arms and the back of her head, with some of the blows landing on the youngster.
His partner phoned the police during the savage attack, at which point Bond ceased the assault. Bond again denied subjecting his girlfriend to any violence, saying that he had earlier consumed a bottle of wine before they argued and he went back to sleep. The mum and baby were taken to hospital following the incident, and neither suffered serious injury.
Kate Morley, defending, said he "accepted one of his punches must have connected" with the baby and that "his actions were reckless but not deliberate". Bond was previously found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial at Liverpool Magistrates' Court, while he admitted criminal damage and assault.
Sentencing, judge Andrew Menary KC said: "It is clear that you are someone who has a real problem with drink and, as a consequence of that no doubt, a particular issue with violence towards partners with whom you are having an intimate relationship. Your conduct in relation to her was outrageous.
"It was simply arrogant, bullying, drunken behaviour. She was on the receiving end of physical violence from you when you lost your temper. For no good reason at all, you began to hit her and punch her to the stomach. That was the way you behaved in drink towards someone who you were meant to care for.
"While on bail, she was then holding this two-week-old child - your child - and you again in temper hit out at her, striking her and at some time striking the baby. It is outrageous behaviour. There is a more constructive alternative. It seems to me that this is a situation where you and society would benefit from an alternative to immediate custody."
Bond was told to complete a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement, a relationships programme and a rehabilitation activity. He has been banned from contacting his former partner or entering her street for the next two years.
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