PARANOID DAD TRIES TO SET FORMER PARTNER'S HOUSE ON FIRE WITH HIS FIVE KIDS INSIDE
2019.A man described as 'paranoid' attempted to ignite his former partner’s residence while their five children were inside.
Matthew Johnson, aged 28, claimed that his ex-girlfriend had begun a new relationship with another man.
He also assaulted her by punching her 15 times, which resulted in bruising and a black eye.
The following day, Johnson returned to the same address in east Hull and ignited pieces of cardboard near the kitchen window of her home.
The victim reported that the fire and her partner’s 'violent' attack caused her to fear for her own safety.
Prosecutor Stephen Welch told the court on Monday: "He approached his ex-partner while she was having a cigarette outside her home with her friend.
“Johnson was seen by her walking up the street who called her 'a dirty little s***' and then threw a can of beer at her.
"He followed her inside the house and landed 10 to 15 punches on her in about 15 seconds.
She closed her eyes and couldn't remember if he punched her with one closed fist or two." Johnson proceeded to send disgusting text messages to the victim after the assault, as well as an apology professing his love for his former partner.
One read: "I will hurt anyone who you go with.
I can only be in jail for so long." "The next day at around 12noon, he returned to the property with a piece of cardboard which he had set on fire and placed below the kitchen window," said Mr Welch.
He sat on her sofa inside the property before the police arrived, the court was told.
As Johnson was being arrested, he told police: "It wasn’t a big fire, I put it out with a bottle of coke." The court heard both incidents had taken place in front of most of the couple’s children, aged between seven and one.
The pair had split up seven months prior the attack on the mum-of-five and her home on August 2 this year.
The victim, through a statement read out by Mr Welch, said: "I’ve had enough, I constantly fear for my own life and I want all of this to end.
All the kids could have been seriously hurt or worse." The defendant had only been at Hull Crown Court two weeks before the arson attack and received a suspended sentence for attacking a Humberside Police officer while under the influence of alcohol.
Johnson, of Sandon Road, Stoke, appeared in custody at court on Monday for sentencing, had already pleaded guilty to arson, criminal damage and assault by occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.
He also pleaded guilty to breaching the suspended sentence.
Richard Thompson, defending, said Johnson was remorseful for his actions and said the defendant had become paranoid while in drink.
Mr Thompson said: "He had gone for two periods of four years where no offences have taken place, but his [early guilty] plea to these charges really speaks for itself." Adding: "He is thoroughly ashamed of what he has done." Jailing him for 30 months, Judge David Tremberg told him: “You went around to your ex partner’s address while paranoid and jealous claiming of her infidelity in the fear that she could live her life without you.
“What you did was designed to humiliate and control her into the fear of her not being there for you.
“The thing with arson is, it doesn’t matter how far away from the house you were, in my view, setting fire to it as you did, you had no control over the consequences." As he was led away by the dock officer, Johnson shouted “I’m sorry" to his ex-partner sitting in the public gallery.
A five-year restraining order was also put in place not to contact the victim or go within 50 metres of her address.
