Adam Paull (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
Adam Paull has been sentenced to more than a year behind bars after assaulting a woman in her own home and refusing to leave until she handed over cash he claimed she owed him.
The 27-year-old, of Tyn y Wen, Tonyrefail, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday to 54 weeks’ imprisonment. He had earlier pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating.
The attack
Paull arrived at Ashleigh Devine’s home in Cardiff on October 9 last year and immediately forced his way inside, pushing past her friend Nigel Grant who was standing in the doorway.
He told Mr Grant: “Get out of my f****** way.”
Paull then turned on Mr Grant aggressively, warning him: “This has f*** all to do with you – keep out of it or I’ll f****** kill you.”
He made his way towards Ms Devine’s bedroom and screamed at her: “Give me my f****** money.”
Prosecutor Leah Pollard told the court the victim owed Paull £250.
Paull struck Ms Devine and pushed her to the neck, causing her to fall onto the bed and bite her own tongue, which began to bleed. He continued to behave erratically and threatened to kill both her and her dog unless the money was paid.
Ms Devine used a banking app to transfer the funds, and it was only when she showed him the transaction had gone through that he stopped and left the property. She called the police out of fear he would return.
“I genuinely believed I was going to die”
In a personal statement read to the court by Ms Pollard, Ms Devine said: “I was assaulted in my own home – the one place I should have felt safe.
“I was completely terrified throughout the ordeal and genuinely believed I was going to die.
“The fear I felt in that moment has never left me and it’s changed my life completely.
“It’s had a devastating effect on my mental health. I am struggling to sleep at night and have short naps in the day.
“I have installed locks on my front door as I’m frightened someone is coming for me. I can’t relax even in my own home.
“I sleep with my shoes on so I can run if I need to. I will no longer shower and have baths so I can hear what is happening and I have locks on my bedroom door.
“My confidence and peace of mind has been taken away from me.
“I feel the person I was before this attack has been taken away from me. My mental health has continued to deteriorate and experience episodes where I feel I can hear voices as if someone is in the house.”
Previous record
Paull was arrested on the evening of the attack and denied assaulting anyone or making threats to kill. The court heard he has 14 previous convictions, including two offences of battery.
Mitigation and sentence
Defence barrister Thomas Stanway told the court his client had been sofa-surfing after being kicked out by his parents following a falling out with his brother. He said Paull’s mental health had deteriorated and he was in “self-destruct mode”.
Judge Paul Hobson sentenced Paull to 54 weeks’ imprisonment and imposed a restraining order lasting five years.
