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21
Jul
Man who left Harrogate woman concussed and bleeding after attack jailed
A man attacked his partner with such ferocity she was left bleeding and concussed and her dog had a seizure and panic attack.
Nathan McGowan, 32, attacked the victim at her home in Harrogate where she had given him shelter before their relationship began because he was homeless, York Crown Court heard.
At first McGowan appeared to be “caring and kind”, but his true colours soon emerged, culminating in the attack on January 23 when he kicked the named woman with such force that she fell back against a wall and banged her head, causing it to bleed profusely, said prosecutor Esther Bukoye.
Blood was oozing from a large cut to the back of the victim’s head and she was treated in hospital for concussion.
York Crown Court
McGowan, of no fixed abode, was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm but initially denied the offence, only to plead guilty on the day his trial was due to be heard. He appeared for sentence via video link today (July 21) after being remanded in custody.
Prosecuting barrister Ms Bukoye said that McGowan and the victim met in January when she invited him to live at her flat in Cheltenham Mount because he was homeless.
Ms Bukoye added:
A relationship started soon after he moved in.
However, the victim soon discovered that the “charming, caring and handsome” man she thought she had met was a “Jekyll & Hyde” character who could be nice one minute and “abusive and violent” the next.
The victim noted how McGowan’s demeanour and mood would change “out of nowhere”, culminating in the attack in January when she suffered “substantial” bleeding to her head.
Ms Bukoye added:
She said that when she was assaulted, her dog reacted to this (by) having a fit or panic attack after witnessing the assault, which caused her further distress.
'Physical pain and emotional distress'
In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said that when she first met McGowan, he “came across as funny, charming and caring”.
She added:
I genuinely believed I had met somebody kind.
I thought I had met someone, finally. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long for his behaviour to change. He became aggressive and unpredictable. You never knew which portion of him you were going to see.
At times he was affectionate and loving and in the next breath his mood changed, making me feel anxious and walking on eggshells.
She said she had been assaulted on other occasions during the relationship, causing her “physical pain and emotional distress”.
She added:
The shouting and swearing (on McGowan’s part) caused distress to my dog and numerous other tenants who live in the building,
For my dog’s safety, I don’t want him near my flat.
The court heard that during the relationship she “removed any items (from her flat) that could be used to injure her”.
McGowan’s criminal record comprised 101 previous offences, including serious violence, thieving, damaging property, shoplifting and breaching a domestic-violence protection order.
In 2019, he was jailed for six years and nine months for wounding causing grievous bodily harm.
At the time of the attack on the Harrogate woman, he was just out of his licence period for the GBH sentence and on bail for stealing a bike and shoplifting for which he received a community order in February.
Defence barrister Chloe Hudson said that McGowan had mental-health problems and hadn’t received the help he needed either inside prison or in the community.
McGowan himself asked to speak from his video custody suite and told the court he had “got off drugs”.
Judge Simon Hickey slammed McGowan for attacking a woman who had shown “Christian decency (in) giving you a home”.
He said that the attack and McGowan’s behaviour towards the victim during their short-lived relationship had had a “huge impact on this young lady”.
McGowan was jailed for 13 months and made subject to a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and going to her home in Harrogate.
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