Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) charge

[Babe2807]

Hi All

My ex husband has been charged with ABH by the CPS. He pleaded not guilty and chose to go to court hearing at the Crown Court instead of Magistrates Court. He is also now on court bail to not make contact with me.
My question is, from your experience what are the chances of him being convicted?

Does he have a history of violence, outside of the current ABH charge?

Not on record. No history.

What sort of evidence is there ? Were there witnesses?

Video from doorbell. Photos of bruises. Medical records including MRI and physio. But thankfully no damage long term. Happened 1 year ago.

Risky move to opt for crown, if he is convicted the sentence will likely be harsher. Have there been any police call outs if no convictions? Had he breached any bail or other restrictive conditions to make contact?

I am guessing the assault is on you? The chance of conviction depends on the evidence the jury hears.
If the assault was caught on video I would anticipate the chance of him being convicted is quite high.

The sentencing powers at crown court are higher but that doesn't necessarily mean you get a harsher sentence.

A domestic assault with video evidence is pretty rare. If you give evidence and have video evidence showing the assault and can show injuries then that’s about as good as you’re likely to get. I’m wondering why he’s pleading not guilty though if the evidence is good.

Around 80% of those charged are convicted.

It's hard to say right now, court dates and the like are massively delayed due to shortages of every kind of staff imaginable.

Have you asked for a Clare's Law report on him by any chance?

Probably because he's an arsehole.

Probably because he's an arsehole

You’re not wrong there. He’s hoping the OP won’t show at court. OP if you go… and I hope you do there’s a good chance he’ll change his plea. Keeping my fingers crossed for you. 🤞

Although apologies if this isn’t a domestic assault… I have rather assumed.

Yes the assault was on me. You can see him pushing me into my home on the video doorbell. Then you hear me scream. All this in front of my young children. He's not breached any conditions but is making my life a misery through the civil courts. Appealing decisions on children and finance. He pleaded guilty as he is pleading self defense and going to try discredit me. All because 2,5 years ago when I discovered his abuse I screamed and shouted and through his clothes out the window. And all this was recorded in the civil family court. And he will use this. The current bail conditions are in place as he kept trying to make me meet up with him. Again adding to his game. He even brought his mistress to the school Xmas event and then called the police saying I harassed her!

Hi. I'm wondering if anyone has sadly been a victim of ABH and if the perpetrator was convicted by the Crown court?

All because 2,5 years ago when I discovered his abuse I screamed and shouted and through his clothes out the window. And all this was recorded in the civil family court. And he will use this.

He won't because he can't. You cannot rely on the defence of self defence for acts which took place 2.5 years ago. Self defence can only be raised if the crime is taking place now and the actions were in direct response to that. The fact you have video evidence will support that. Is there any medical evidence?

Even if it wasn't for the passage of time, screaming, shouting and throwing his clothes out would not allow him to claim self defence. That only applies if you were physically attacking him and he caused your injuries through trying to stop you.

I'd be prepared for him getting off. It very much depends on lawyers and how the judge feels on the day. And who the jury have sympathy fir.
You having thrown his clothes out the window will no doubt be used by his lawyer to show you were "equal" in fights rather than a down trodden domestic abuse victim.
Hope the truth prevails and you get justice but from what you've written it doesn't seem a clear cut case.

That's my worry. I got injured with bruises and injury to shoulder requiring physio. But in the end when he left to be with his affair partner (almost 3 years ago) I did get angry and shouted, screamed and threw his stuff. At the time he put in for a non molestation order against me which was not granted by the court - he made up so many false allegations. This is all recorded and this is what he will use to say he acted in 'self defense'. I'm saddened by the fact that he will get away with this. No doubt if acquitted will come for me in terms of the civil court route. He is an angry and vindictive man who will not stop.

As per my previous post, it is only self-defence if you are physically attacking him at the time he attacked you. He can't use something that happened over 2 years previously to allege self-defence. As 80% of cases result in a conviction, the chances of him getting away with it are low.

He didn't get a none molestation order because 1 wasn't needed. How will that go in his favour? It won't.. He is continuing to abuse you. Ignore and fight on imo.
You got this op.

As I said previously what happened almost three years ago is irrelevant.

He can only allege self defence if you were attacking him at the time of this offence. Even then such force used must be reasonable.

Given that the CPS has authorised charge here it is almost certain that your previous conduct has been discounted by them too for reasons already given (I'm assuming the CPS will know about previous incidents between you both either from what you've told them or from previous police interventions).

I’d say a high chance of conviction on the basis of what you’ve said.

I’m an ex-criminal barrister who has prosecuted and defended tens of Crown Ct ABHs and 100s in the magistrates court. I’d actually be amazed if he doesn’t plead guilty on first day of trial. At this point he’s just trying to string things along and stress you out. Ignore him.

From experience self defence is often used to take matters to the wire in the hope the victim and witnesses do not attend court through fear of a trial. I never believed this would happen until I attended crown court for the trial of my gs's dad - gs resides with me.

He had attacked a man with additional needs and he claimed self defence. The victim fell apart on the stand and the witness had limited memory so he was found not guilty. He was then charged with GBH and again claimed self defence. At the pre-trial, the Judge told his barrister the defence was "farcical". This was because the blow that fractured this victim's skull was to the back of his head as he walked away. Still pleaded not guilty until a week before trial.

This man also used the family courts to harass me for years.

I find myself in a challenging situation involving my partner's impending court case. The case is scheduled for the 8th of November and pertains to the following charges:

• Offence: Intentional strangulation - Offence Date: 20/09/2023 - 30/09/2023
• Offence: Assault a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm - Offence Date: 31/07/2023
• Offence: Assault a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm - Offence Date: 04/09/2023
• Offence: Engage in controlling / coercive behaviour in an intimate / family relationship - Offence Date: 04/09/2023

I told the police I made false allegations against my partner. However, new developments have arisen that have led me to question the validity of those allegations. There are second-hand witnesses who have seen minor bruises on me, and there is a lady who witnessed an altercation between my partner and me at an Aldi store, and she intends to testify in court. Additionally, my mother has provided a statement, attesting to her observation of bruises, and I have submitted pictures to the police depicting more severe bruises told them it’s from a previous relationship. I explicitly informed the police that I had lied and subsequently issued a retraction statement, disavowing the veracity of the original allegations.

I should also mention that a so-called friend has messages from me stating that my partner hurt me. However, I said that I misled her because I was not in my right frame of mind at the time. I would like to emphasize that I have struggled with mental health issues, which can be attributed to past relationships, and I am in the process of obtaining a letter of proof from my mental health worker.

My primary concern is the potential impact of these new developments on the outcome of the case. If I were to communicate with the prosecution and present the dates of the pictures as evidence, what are the chances of my partner being acquitted? It is essential to note that my partner has a prior criminal history for domestic abuse already, which adds complexity to the situation and understandably, it is a source of great anxiety.

how long could he get has anybody else been in similar situations it’s going to crown court 8th November for plea hearing

@EF1997 you need to start your own thread to get the right answers.

You've not said in this if your partner has actually done this ? You've just retracted which is not the same.