A York businessman has been jailed for a vicious attack on his partner in which he stamped on her head and kicked her in the ribs as she was lying helpless on the floor.
Adrian Fehete, 32, beat his partner “black and blue” during an attack described by the sentencing judge as “wicked”.
Fehete, a self-employed former chip-shop owner, had been drinking beer and whisky when he attacked the victim “for no reason”, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Finlay said that Fehete was heavily drunk when he attacked the victim at his home.
He started shouting at her during a long drinking session and struck her in the face, knocking her to the floor.
As she was lying prone and helpless, Fehete continued to punch and then kick her as his friend tried in vain to stop him.
“She got up, but the defendant continued his attack, pushing her back to the floor (and) stamping her on the head and kicking her to the ribs,” added Mr Finlay.
“She remembers getting up (but) can’t remember how the attack ended.”
Mr Finlay said that after the attack, Fehete “pretended to cry and said he didn’t want to go to prison; that he had mental-health issues and didn’t know why he kept losing control as he did”.
The victim, who suffered multiple injuries including bruising and swelling to her face and torso, fled to her mother’s address and was taken to hospital. It was initially suspected that she had broken her ribs, but scans revealed no fractures.
Fehete was arrested and told police he had been drinking heavily but made no comment when asked how his now-ex partner had come about her injuries.
He was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm but initially denied the offence, which occurred in July 2021.
He was due to go before a jury but ultimately pleaded guilty on the day of his trial in March. He appeared for sentence yesterday (Friday)
‘Ongoing nightmares’
The victim, a mother-of-two who was named in court, said she had been in a relationship with Fehete for over a year before the attack in July 2021.
She said that during that time she had been an “anxious mess, not knowing how (Fehete) would react to situations”.
She had suffered bruising and swelling around her face, chest and arms and “excruciating” pain to her ribs. She was on painkillers for a long time and felt “humiliated and degraded” by the visible bruises around her eyes.
[adrotate group=”3″]
She had endured “ongoing nightmares” and had been put off relationships since the attack. She was receiving help from a psychotherapist to “help build my confidence” but was now a virtual recluse.
Fehete, of Hambleton Avenue, York, had a previous conviction for drink-driving and failing to surrender to custody.
His barrister Adam Kennaghan said Fehete’s vicious behaviour against his former partner was an “aberration” and that he had no record for violence, although “alcohol has played an unhelpful role in his life for this past year”.
He added that Fehete, a Romanian national who moved to the UK in 2014, had worked ever since arriving in his adoptive country, firstly as the owner of a fish-and-chip shop in Goole, East Yorkshire. He had since worked on the railways and was about to start work in construction.
Judge Sean Morris described the attack as “wicked” and told Fehete: “You beat your partner black and blue, so much so that your friend had intervened when you were punching and kicking her. You were out of your head on hard alcohol.
“What makes it worse is that that lady had to wait an eternity before you had the courage to plead guilty… and you only owned up, no doubt, when she turned up for trial in March.
“She has anguished over what you did to her all that time and she is still anguished.”
Fehete was jailed for 18 months and slapped with a five-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.
[tptn_list limit=3 daily=1 hour_range=1]