A Harrogate man has received a suspended jail sentence after assaulting his long-suffering former partner in her car where he pushed her head into the steering wheel.

Maxi Franks, 34, was a passenger in the victim’s car when he flew into a rage after she made a joke about how they had both “moved on” from their relationship, York Crown Court heard.

An argument ensued during which Franks grabbed her by the neck and pushed her head down onto the steering wheel while the vehicle was stationary at a junction in Hutton Gate, said prosecutor Charlotte Noddings.

The named victim, also from Harrogate, had stopped at the junction where a male witness heard shouting coming from the car.

Ms Noddings said:

The witness said the car was then driven away as he called police.

Franks denied throttling the victim and vehemently denied further allegations that he had strangled her with a seat belt and threatened her with a knife. This was ultimately accepted by the prosecution.

The victim, who suffered marks to her head and face, had a panic attack after the assault as Franks apologised to her.

Ms Noddings said that despite being upset, the victim wanted to be comforted by Franks and drove back to her home in Woodlands with him. However, when they arrived, Franks, who had a drug problem, became “agitated” again.

When the victim told him that his agitation was down to his cocaine problem and that his “addiction” was the reason their relationship had ended, Franks responded by smashing a glass.

She told him to leave which he did but he kicked the door so hard as he left that it came off its hinges.

Meanwhile, the man who witnessed the attack in the vehicle had already set police on Franks’s trail after giving them the registration plate of the victim’s car. They turned up at her address and then went to Franks’s home where he was arrested.

He was charged with intentional strangulation, threatening the victim with a knife and criminal damage.

Relationship turned 'toxic'

Franks, of Redfearn Mews, Rossett Green, denied all allegations, claiming initially that he had acted in self-defence during the incident on November 6, 2022.

When the case reached the Crown Court in January, he admitted damaging the door at the victim’s house but denied all the other allegations.

The case was listed for trial in August when he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in line with evidence provided by the male witness, namely that Franks grabbed the victim by the neck and pushed her head down onto the steering wheel but didn’t strangle or threaten her with a knife.

The prosecution accepted this basis and allowed the remaining two charges to lie on the court’s file.

Franks appeared for sentence yesterday (October 15) when the court heard that his relationship with the victim had initially been a happy one.

Ms Noddings said:

The day before the attack, the victim received several messages from Franks telling her “he loved her and wanted to see her”.

She agreed to him visiting her home in Woodlands, but during the evening she realised it was a “mistake”. The attack occurred when she was driving him home the following day.

In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim, who is a mother, described her relationship with Franks as “toxic” and that he was “unpredictable” and had a “strong hold on her”.

She said she was “in love with him” but there was “another side to him” fuelled by alcohol and drugs.

14 previous convictions

Franks had 14 previous convictions for 23 offences including two for damaging property.

His barrister Harry Crowson was spared the need for mitigation when judge Simon Hickey said he would not be sending his client to jail.

The judge said he was sparing Franks an immediate jail sentence because he was sentencing him on the basis he had put forward and which was agreed by the prosecution, “otherwise (the sentence) would be measured in years”.

He also noted character references including from Franks’ employer, who described him as a hard worker.

Franks was given a nine-month prison sentence, but this was suspended for 18 months. As part of that, he was ordered to complete a six-month drug-rehabilitation programme and six months of GPS track monitoring, as well as 25 days’ rehabilitation activity.  

He was ordered to pay the victim £250 compensation for the damage caused to her property and made subject to a two-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and going to her home.