Scarborough man jailed after subjecting girlfriend to months of cruelty, violence and coercion

Stephen Thornton, 30, from Eastfield, tried to control every aspect of the victim’s life, from what she could wear, where she could go and whom she could see.

He would then turn his ire on her in a shockingly violent way – whether she complied with his demands or not, York Crown Court heard.

And judge Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, said he behaved “like a barbarian” towards her.

Prosecutor Brooke Morrison said that Thornton, described as “controlling”, was paranoid about the named victim seeing other men, which wasn’t the case, and would bombard her with phone calls and messages when she was out with friends.

In fits of temper, he would drag her around by her hair, “throw her around” and on one occasion throttled her.

The couple started a relationship in May 2022, but it soon turned sour when Thornton began staying at the victim’s flat in Clifton Street, Scarborough.

“He would continually message her when she was out of the house, wanting to know who she was with and where she was,” said Ms Morrison.

Thornton used “emotional blackmail” and threatened to leave “twice per day”, added the barrister.

On July 14 last year, he bombarded the victim with text messages while she was at a pop concert in Scarborough, “paranoid that she was going to be unfaithful”.

When she returned home, he grabbed her by the throat, snatched her phone and smashed it on the floor.

A few weeks later, he turned up at her home drunk and threw her to the floor.

He then picked up a trainer and hit her on the chin or jaw, causing severe bruising.

The victim locked the patio door as soon as he left, but Thornton later returned and tried to break in by “violently shaking” the door which caused it to smash.

Days later, she was about to go to work when Thornton became nasty again, throwing her into a clothes horse before dragging her around the living room by the hair.

When she pleaded with him to leave, he picked up a glass from the coffee table and threw it at her foot, causing grazing.

In a separate incident, the victim was on her tablet, laughing at a message sent by a friend, when Thornton demanded to know who had sent the text.

“When she didn’t respond, he grabbed the tablet from her and threw it into the kitchen like a frisbee,” said Ms Morrison.

“(The tablet) broke.”

On another occasion he stormed into her bedroom, snatched her new phone and smashed it.

He later dragged her from a sofa, causing bruising.

In yet another incident in August, he was “packing up his things, telling her he was going to leave”, when he picked up a remote control and threw it against a wall, causing the device to break and leaving a dent in the wall.

Less than a week later, by which time Thornton had smashed her phone again, he launched into another drunken tirade and grabbed her by the arm, causing bruising.

He then smashed her new phone and left the flat with it.

About a week later, the victim sent him a message saying she didn’t want anything to do with him and asking him to leave her alone.

Thornton’s response was to say he would kill himself.

This time the victim called police, believing she had finally brought an end to four months of torment.

However, by the end of October, Thornton was bombarding her with more phone calls and messages.

He was finally arrested and ultimately admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, using controlling and coercive behaviour and harassment.

Thornton, of Wheatfields Court, appeared for sentence via video link today (June 26) after being remanded in custody.

In a statement read out in court, the victim said her personality had been “completely changed” by the relationship with Thornton who used “emotional blackmail” to try to stop her going out with friends.

She said he would question her on what she wearing and even why she was putting make-up on, wrongly believing she was cheating on him when going out with friends, and eventually stopped her going out.

His obsessive control of her changed the way she dressed and how she did her hair, and she even stopped wearing make-up when going out.

She had been “hounded and abused” by Thornton throughout the relationship “even if I did as he told”.

Defence barrister Caroline Abraham said Thornton had never been violent to women in previous relationships and was “deeply remorseful” for his behaviour towards the victim.

Judge Morris told Thornton: “Over a period of months you behaved like a barbarian towards your partner, including grabbing her by the throat, throwing her around, dragging her around by the hair and using a training shoe to hit her with.

“It’s deeply unpleasant and so serious only an immediate prison sentence can be justified.”

Thornton was jailed for 17 months and given a five-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim upon his eventual release from prison.