A Knaresborough man who strangled his pregnant partner to the point of unconsciousness has been jailed for two years.

Ben Stevenson, 27, was not long out of prison for a previous offence of robbery when he met the victim and formed a relationship with her, York Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Kelly Clarke said the strangulation occurred just before midnight on May 14 after the named victim, Stevenson’s then partner, told him she wanted the relationship to end.

Stevenson first hit her on the back of the head, then flipped her over and put her in a “choke hold” with his forearm pressed against her neck, before “straddling her on either side”.

The victim finally managed to get him off and tried to escape, but then Stevenson grabbed her by the neck again, “preventing her from breathing”, and dragged her onto the bed.

It was at this point that the victim lost consciousness and woke up to find Stevenson with his “full weight on her”.

He eventually calmed down, police were called and officers arrived just after midnight to arrest him.

Blamed victim

Ms Clarke said that during police questioning, Stevenson tried to blame the victim for the incident and initially denied he had strangled her.

The bloodied victim was taken to hospital for treatment for unspecified injuries. She had since experienced “trouble with her voice” due to being strangled.

Stevenson - formerly of Harrogate Road, Ferrensby, but currently of no fixed address - was charged with intentional strangulation and three counts of assault by beating.

He ultimately admitted strangulation but the three assault allegations were withdrawn by the prosecution and allowed to lie on the court’s file.

He appeared for sentence via video link today (10 September) after being remanded incustody.

The victim, who was heavily pregnant at the time of the incident, told the court about the “devastating” effects that Stevenson’s attack had had on her and her family.

Fighting back tears, she said she was “petrified” when Stevenson began strangling her and had been left “heartbroken”.

“He could have killed me,” she added.

Knifepoint robbery

In 2023, Stevenson - who used to work in the salvage business and farming - was jailed for two years and nine months for robbery and carrying a machete after he and other members of a balaclava-wearing gang lured a couple to a quiet country lane in Knaresborough and robbed them at knifepoint.

The victims in that case had thought they were about to inspect a £26,000 truck which had been advertised for sale online.

They followed directions from their home in Berkshire to Farnham Lane near Knaresborough. On arrival, as the husband was getting out of their VW Golf car, a Transit van drew up and six-to-eight men, wearing balaclavas and carrying machetes, jumped out.

The men demanded money from the couple who were told to throw their phones to the ground, which they did.

The wife was bundled out of the Golf and the gang drove off with the vehicle which had nearly £7,000 cash inside for part-payment of the truck which had been advertised for sale.

Stevenson and two other men, from Leeds and Bradford, were jailed for a combined 10 years for those offences in early 2023, Stevenson receiving a 33-month sentence.

'Serious force'

The victim in the strangulation case met Stevenson after he was released from prison partway through that sentence in 2024.

Defence barrister Nick Hammond said that Stevenson accepted that the relationship with the victim was over.

Recorder Christopher Knox said the strangulation incident was a “particularly unpleasant episode” in which Stevenson had used “really serious force” to restrict the victim’s breathing.

“She was clearly very distressed and worried about her pregnancy which was at that stage 28 weeks or thereabouts,” added Mr Knox.

Stevenson was jailed for two years and made subject to a 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim directly and prohibiting him from going to her home or workplace.