ANDREW DARKINS

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OFFENDER SENTENCED AFTER ATTACK IN HEMEL HEMPSTEAD

A man named Andrew Darkins, aged 22 and from Inkerman Street, Luton, has been jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to causing actual bodily harm.

The incident occurred in Hemel Hempstead where Darkins repeatedly punched a woman in the face while she was trying to comfort her child.

The victim, who had just escaped a previous violent relationship, was on her sofa in her home when Darkins, who had multiple prior convictions for 29 offences, including violence, assaulted her.

Rachel Law, prosecuting, described that on the morning of April 5, Darkins refused to leave when asked, then punched the woman five times, hitting her nose and face, with a 'pop' felt during the assault.

Blood was wiped from the child's feet after the incident.

The woman was taken to the hospital with two black eyes, swelling, a cut, and pain, and expressed her fear and loss of trust in men.

Darkins's previous convictions include attacks on three former partners, dragging an ex-partner by her hair, and threatening with a knife.

The judge, Judge Stephen Warner, stated that Darkins lost self-control and that the woman was a victim of domestic violence at his hands, describing the ordeal as 'thoroughly terrifying.' A restraining order was also issued to prevent Darkins from contacting the victim.