CRAIG STEWART – NORTHAMPTON

❌CRAIG STEWART – NORTHAMPTON❌

Northampton Man Jailed After Subjecting Former Partner to Months of Abuse

Published: September 2022

A Northampton man has been jailed after subjecting his former partner to months of violent, controlling and coercive abuse during their relationship.

Craig Stewart, 34, of Helmdon Crescent, Kingsthorpe, appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court via video link from prison, where he was sentenced for a series of domestic abuse offences committed between April and September 2021.

The court heard that Stewart’s behaviour escalated rapidly just weeks into the relationship. Within two weeks, he demanded that his partner make her Instagram account private and began exerting increasing control over her daily life.

Prosecutor Alex Radley described how Stewart repeatedly contacted the victim at all hours to check where she was and what she was doing. He regularly insulted her appearance, made derogatory comments about her clothing, checked her phone, and subjected her to name-calling both in private and in public.

The first incident of physical violence occurred after a meal out, when Stewart slapped the victim across the face once they returned home, telling her she “deserved it”. The abuse intensified over time, with the court hearing that Stewart went on to head-butt, slap, punch and strangle her on multiple occasions.

In one particularly frightening incident, Stewart strangled the victim with both hands until she struggled to breathe, leaving her fearing that she was about to be killed. The court was also told that Stewart threatened to kill the victim and members of her family, and made threats to harm her cat, which prosecutors said he viewed as competing for her attention.

The final violent episode saw the victim flee to a petrol station for help after Stewart punched her in the head while she was driving, following a torrent of verbal abuse.

Stewart pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to controlling and coercive behaviour, two counts of assault by beating and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH). The court heard he had 27 previous offences dating back to 2009.

During sentencing, His Honour Judge Francis Sheridan described Stewart’s behaviour as “absolutely disgusting”, branding it “cowardly, cruel and unrelenting”. Addressing the defendant, the judge said:

“We have to get the message across that women are people in their own right. They are not and never will be your property.”

Stewart was sentenced to 45 months in prison and made subject to an indefinite restraining order, preventing him from contacting the victim. He is also subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed following a previous case.

Judge Sheridan added that the court would take increasingly severe action if such behaviour continued, warning:

“If you are not prepared to stop, the sentences will get longer.”