A traumatised woman has described the terrifying moment she thought her fiancé was going to "finish her off" as he marched her towards a river after biting her face in a vicious attack.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Cameron Johnson bit, punched and strangled his former fiancée during two violent attacks in August 2021 and April 2022.
The 28-year-old has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the attacks on his ex-partner.
The judge told Johnson — who has a previous conviction for battery of another former partner in 2019 — that the sentence was "insufficient" to what many members of the public feel he deserves but that his "hands are tied".
The court heard how the Redcar man's last attack left his former fiancée so terrified that she was forced to flee her own home in nothing but her underwear and banged on neighbour's doors pleading for help.
Obsessed mum accused neighbour of running brothel and threatened to kill her
Johnson was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court (Google Maps)Jonathan Gittins, prosecuting, described how the first attack took place during a trip to Newcastle, saying that the couple had gone out for food and drinks when Johnson started acting aggressive and told his fiancée she was "p***ing him off".
After leaving a bar, she told Johnson of an earlier incident that had seen a man make unwanted advances towards her and he had been kicked out of the establishment, TeessideLive reports.
"This caused an argument as they were walking back to the hotel and the defendant stopped [his partner], put his hand over her mouth and grabbed her by the throat," said Mr Gittins.
"He then began to march her towards the river, away from the hotel, holding her arm behind her back. He stopped suddenly and turned towards her, held her face with both hands and bit down hard on to her nose."
The victim's nose then began to bleed but as she tried to pull away Johnson would bite down harder, the court heard.
Johnson continued to march her away but the victim fled when she saw people outside of a nightclub and was almost hit by a taxi as she ran to escape her attacker, who then left.
But just months later Johnson launched another violent attack after going through the woman's phone and finding messages from while they were separated.
In the horrific incident Johnson bit her ear, right cheek, nose and her other cheek — drawing blood and leaving marks.
"As he was biting her, he was holding her down by the throat causing her to struggle to breathe," said Mr Gittins.
The attacker then punched the woman on the right side of her face and covered her mouth to stifle her screaming.
'My son's a drug lord - he's threatened to kill me but I still love him'
The woman was able to escape and desperately fled the house in her underwear, going door to door asking for help before the police were eventually called, the court heard.
In a personal statement to the court, the woman told her former fiancé: "When you asked me to marry you it was the most natural and easiest yes of my life. I trusted you completely, our personalities worked so well together... you completely shattered my trust."
Describing the attack in Newcastle, she said: "The way you marched me down the road - someone asked if I was okay, I said no but you said I was just drunk. With blood pouring down my face as you marched me down that road, I thought honestly you walking me down to the river to finish me off.
"At this point there was no point trying to fight you anymore, I had accepted what was happening."
The woman has been left with lasting scars from the attacks and revealed that she now suffers from anxiety, possible PTSD and has felt suicidal.
She added: "Everything triggers me, all of the time, even on a good day. You have ruined me."
Nigel Soppitt, mitigating, said Johnson pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and is "deeply, deeply ashamed" of his behaviour.
"He has real issues with controlling his temper and suppressing his unfounded jealousy," said Mr Soppitt.
The court was told that Johnson had received mental health support and had been trying to cut down on his alcohol consumption.
Judge Jonathan Carroll, sentencing, was also told that Johnson had been assaulted in the Redcar area in the past months, which he believes to be due to rumours of his behaviour.
As he handed him his sentence, Judge Carrol said: "Strangulation is a particularly vicious form of assaulting somebody because the difference between assault and tragedy is a matter of moments - moments you were in no fit state to judge when your anger is up."
He added: "The sentences ultimately I'm going to pass will still, to many outside observers, stand insufficient but my hands are tied by the maximum sentence available for these offences... any sentence I impose is likely to fall short of what many people will think you would richly deserve."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
