Court Increases Sentence for Man’s “Campaign of Abuse”

A 27-year-old man who subjected his former partner to a “campaign of harassment” has had his prison sentence increased following an appeal by the Solicitor General.

Jordan Crewe, previously of Caerphilly, was initially jailed for two years in February after admitting harassment, controlling or coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation.

On Thursday, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal increased his sentence to two years and 10 months.

Lord Justice Stuart-Smith, sitting with Mr Justice Goose and Mrs Justice Eady, said that Crewe’s victim claimed she had been diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks due to the offending, and described herself as “a shell of the person she used to be.”

The court heard that Crewe’s offences represented a “campaign of denigrating conduct” which was “punctuated by incidents of violence.”

Jennifer Newcomb, for the Solicitor General, told the hearing that Crewe was previously jailed for 16 months in March 2022 for offences against his former partner. After being released on licence, he barged his way into her home and let down the tyres of her car in October that year.

Despite being recalled to prison, Crewe’s “campaign of harassment continued” through letters, messages and phone calls.

Upon release in May 2023, his coercive and controlling behaviour “included persistent messaging, secretly activating a tracker on her phone, threatening suicide, controlling the clothes she wore, groping her breasts and bottom in public and not allowing her to see her family,” Ms Newcomb said.

The court also heard that Crewe bit his ex-partner’s face in December 2024 and intentionally strangled her while she was driving.

Vaughan Britton, Crewe’s barrister, argued that the sentence was not unduly lenient, citing Crewe’s ADHD diagnosis and difficult upbringing with “multiple foster placements breaking down.”

However, Lord Justice Stuart-Smith dismissed this, stating that Crewe “was given every opportunity and did not take it,” and that the new jail term was “the lowest appropriate sentence that could properly have been passed.”

Following the ruling, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP said: “Jordan Crewe’s tirade of abuse against his ex-partner was appalling. He carried out a systematic campaign of violence and coercive control, which must have left his victim in a constant state of fear for their safety. Thankfully, the court has recognised the severity of Crewe’s actions and increased his sentence, protecting his partner from coming to further harm. My thoughts today are with his ex-partner, who was so brave to come forward.”