A 27-year-old man who strangled his former partner, and later headbutted her while she was pregnant with his child, has been given a prison sentence of 39 months.
Jack Conn-Peers, of Broadway in Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Friday. He had admitted:
- Strangulation
- Actual bodily harm
The assaults
The pair were in a relationship at the time. The first attack, when Conn-Peers strangled the woman, happened at some point between June 30 and September 1 2022.
In July 2023 he headbutted her in the face. She was expecting his child at the time.
Impact on the victim
The court heard that his violence had left her with “severe psychological harm”, and that her other child had also been affected.
The judge’s view
Recorder Neil Owen-Casey said Conn-Peers had acted “aggressively and violently” when faced with information he found “personally problematic”.
Addressing him directly, the judge said: “This is a case where you have attempted to undermine the trust of the victim.”
“Verbal disputes between you, escalated into acts of violence, fuelled by your use of drugs and alcohol,” he added.
The Recorder took into account how young Conn-Peers had been when he committed the offences. However, he said a pre-sentence report concerned him. In it, Conn-Peers seemed to “minimise the strangulation” and showed “little insight” into what his actions had done.
The judge also spoke of a “Jekyll and Hyde” character. He said that while character references showed Conn-Peers in a positive light, “this is clearly a case of what has gone on behind closed doors, has remained behind closed doors. They have not see the true person behind the closed door.”
Previous offending and mitigation
Prosecutor Simon Parry told the court that Conn-Peers had a history of misusing drugs and alcohol. Between 2017 and 2023 he received six convictions covering eight earlier offences, including:
- Assault
- Drug possession
- An alcohol-related driving offence
- Assaulting an emergency worker
Patrick Gartland, representing Conn-Peers, said his client was young when the offences were committed and had been dealing with mental health issues.
Release and protection order
Conn-Peers must spend a third of his sentence in custody before he can be released on licence.
He was also given a Domestic Abuse Protection Order lasting six years. Among its conditions, he must not:
- Contact or approach the victim
- Post or publish any material about her on social media
He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge.
