A woman was left with bloody face and an injury to her eye which required gluing when she was punched and stamped on by a man. The attacker was armed with a knife and had removed a window to the victim's friend's home in order to assault her.
Benjamin Simpson, 25, assaulted Tia Buckley on July 10 last year at the home of Ancria Hayes in Newport after an argument took place at a gathering. The defendant was involved in a number of arguments with his ex partner and a man before leaving.
But a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard Simpson returned to Ms Hayes home at 1am and appeared in the living room window holding a kitchen knife between eight and 10 inches in length. He made threats towards Ms Buckley and waved the knife towards her.
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Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said the defendant removed the glass from the window and jumped into the house before attacking Ms Buckley for 10 minutes. Phone footage of the attack was played to the court which showed people screaming and a child attempting to pull Simpson off Ms Buckley.
Ms Smith-Higgins added: "She was hit and taken to the floor and he stood on her face, punched her to the nose ad stomped all over her body. She described the force of the punches as if it were 'everything he had got'. She can't recall how may times she was punched or stamped but described it as repeated."
As a result of the assault, Ms Buckley attended A&E and was treated for wounds to her eye which required gluing. A video of the victim was played to the court which showed her face covered in blood and she was crying.
Simpson was arrested and interviewed when he denied assaulting Ms Buckley and claimed it was she who had lost her temper, trashed the house and threatened him with a knife. The defendant, of Caerau Road, Newport, later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. The court heard he had previous convictions including burglary, dishonesty, failing to comply with court orders, battery, criminal damage and public order offences. He also failed to attend court and pleaded guilty to failure to surrender.
Defence barrister Stuart John said his client accepted the facts of the case but since his remand in custody he is now free of cannabis and has gained employment in prison. He conceded the videos played to the court were "nothing short of horrific" but described Ms Buckley's injuries as "superficial".
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "This was a cowardly and sustained attack on a woman who was no match for you and in a vulnerable position. It involved not only your fists but your feet.... She was left bloodied and bruised and with cuts to her left eye that were subsequently glued." The judge went on to say that Simpson had previously made "derogatory comments" about women he had been in relationships with and formed relationships with women in order for him to have somewhere to live.
Simpson was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment for the assault and criminal damage charges. He was sentenced to another consecutive month for failing to surrender.
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