CRAIG CASSIDY SENTENCED IN STAMFORD FOR MULTIPLE ASSAULTS ON EX-PARTNER

Craig Cassidy, a 47-year-old man, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison following a series of assaults on his former partner, Mary Jones. The attacks took place during visits to a friend on St Leonards Street, Stamford, where Cassidy pushed Ms. Jones to the ground and struck her with a walking stick. Later that day, at her residence in Abbott’s Close, he punched her in the face and stamped on her head. Cassidy pleaded guilty to charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating on May 7 of this year, and also admitted to an additional assault charge related to an earlier attack on February 1, on Stamford High Street. Prosecutor Phil Howes explained, “A neighbor had called police after hearing items thrown around Ms. Jones’ home.” When officers arrived, Cassidy was found riding his bike, taunting them to catch him, before being detained and restrained on the ground. The injuries sustained by Ms. Jones included a badly swollen face, an injured eyelid, and blood around her mouth. In a statement to the police, Cassidy said, “She provokes me. I know I shouldn’t have done it. I’ll do my bird and sit in my prison cell. I know what I did. I’m ashamed of it.” Judge Simon Hirst condemned the assaults, describing them as “a sustained and repeated attack” and emphasized, “It is utterly unacceptable. Plainly it must be a custodial sentence.” In mitigation, defense lawyer Mark Watson highlighted Cassidy’s past struggles with alcohol and substance misuse, noting, “This was a toxic relationship. She has been writing to him in prison but he has not responded. He doesn’t want anything to do with her.”