Newport teen locked up for punching and kicking girlfriend (From South Wales Argus)

Newport teen locked up for punching and kicking girlfriend

3:20pm Saturday 2nd March 2013 in News By Keiligh Baker

A 19-YEAR-OLD man who punched and kicked his girlfriend on a night out in Newport last November has been locked up for 35 weeks.

Benjamin Edward Sharps, originally of Reynolds Close, Newport, and now of Gloucester Place, Cheltenham, pleaded guilty to assault by beating at Cwmbran Magistrates Court.

Sharps had been on a night out in Newport on November 23 with a group of friends including his girlfriend Jade Clavin.

In the early hours of November 24 they went back to a friend's flat in Bettws. Prosecutor Craig Jones said: "On entering the flat the defendant walked straight up to the victim and punched her in the face.

"Ms Clavin fell to the floor and the defendant left the flat. She took sometime to compose herself and then followed him out of the flat and downstairs.

"He then grabbed her and dragged her outside into the street, where he punched her again in the face, knocking her to the floor," he said.

"The defendant then kicked her several times in the body, after which he made off from the scene."

Magistrates were told the police were called as a result of the disturbance, but Ms Clavin refused to make a formal statement of complaint.

They were also told Ms Clavin tried to hide her injuries from police with a towel and told them she had fallen down the stairs, but evidence given by officers noted she had a swollen left jaw, swollen lip and nose and a cut on her chin following the incident.

Steven Mock, for Sharps, said: "The defendant and Ms Clavin have been in a relationship for one year and four months. This is very much a one-off instance in their relationship.

"It was an argument which got out of hand, and he understands that.

"He has had time to reflect and he understands he has to take responsibility for what he has done, and he understands that he is someone very much at risk of going to prison today."

Ms Clavin and Sharps are now living in Cheltenham, where Sharps was working as an apprentice at the hairdressing salon where Ms Clavin is assistant manager.

Sharps was already subject to a suspended sentence order and had around 90 hours of community service left at the time of the incident.

Magistrates sentenced Sharps to 35 weeks in custody.