BULLY BOYFRIEND WHO CARRIED OUT 'DESPICABLE' CATALOGUE OF DOMESTIC ABUSE JAILED
Aggressive intoxicated individual Stephen Higgs assaulted his partner by headbutting her, striking her to the ground, and squeezing her throat in a sequence of violent acts.During the assault, he also made a hostile remark, telling her, 'That's what you are worth,' before spitting in her face.
Higgs, aged 39, received a 15-month prison sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Emmanuel Conania outlined that the defendant had been in a four-month relationship with the victim when they argued on December 22, 2023, after drinking heavily throughout the day.
Mr.
Conania described the incident: "She recalls him slapping her in the face or across the chest.
He then spat in her face.
She said, 'You spat at me'.
He replied, 'Yeah, that's what you are worth'.
"He flipped her dining table over.
Later that evening he headbutted her to the face.
He grabbed her around the throat.
She tried to pull his hand away.
He punched her and caused her to fall to the floor.
When she got up he punched her again to the face." Higgs denied the charges but was found guilty after a trial of assault by beating and actual bodily harm.
Defense attorney Bob Sastry highlighted Higgs's history of substance misuse, stating he had been a heavy alcoholic and used drugs like monkey dust.
Sastry added that Higgs had been living with his mother for three months, abstaining from alcohol and drugs, and had taken steps toward rehabilitation.
Recorder Robert Smith remarked on the seriousness of Higgs’s conduct, noting his history of domestic abuse and substance problems, and emphasized that the repeated nature and severity of the violence warranted imprisonment, stating it was his duty to do so.
