Hunton man facing jail over string of offences

A Hunton man is facing a possible jail sentence after he admitted a string of violent offences against his former partner and two others.

Jack Brown, 26, admitted all but two offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, harassment, criminal damage, cannabis production and disorderly behaviour.

Brown, of Leyburn Road, Hunton, appeared at York Magistrates’ Court yesterday for pre-sentence matters to be ironed out following a complex legal case.

Some of the charges levelled against him were withdrawn but Brown is still facing the possibility of jail after admitting a series of serious offences, mainly against his then partner, but also violence towards her friend and Brown’s neighbour.

Brown assaulted the neighbour causing him actual bodily harm, on November 19, 2020, and admitted disorderly behaviour towards another neighbour, which occurred on November 12 of that year.

He also admitted assaulting his then partner, damaging a window blind at her home in York and assaulting her friend.

Those offences occurred on October 17 last year and were all part of the same incident.

Brown assaulted his by then former partner a second time in York on September 25 last year and admitted harassing her between October 2021 and February this year.

An allegation of stalking her was ultimately withdrawn by the prosecution but he admitted battery and harassment.

A further allegation of harassing a second named female neighbour was also dropped by the prosecution.

Brown also admitted possessing cannabis on February 4 this year and being concerned in the production of cannabis on February 7 last year when police found five marijuana plants at his home.

Prosecutor Martin Butterworth said it was accepted that the cannabis was for Brown’s own use.

He said police had offered to deal with the offence as a caution “which unfortunately for Mr Brown he didn’t take up” and he was landed with yet another criminal allegation.

District judge Adrian Lower said he needed more information from the Probation Service about Brown’s background and a risk assessment before he could proceed to sentence.

He adjourned sentence to June 9 and granted Brown bail until then on condition that he did not contact any of the three victims, did not enter the streets in which they lived and did not enter any premises or campuses at the University of York.

He told Brown that although he had finally owned up to the offences, they “nonetheless represent a fairly frequent pattern of behaviour in respect of Miss Whitaker in the context of the breakdown of the relationship”.

He added: “The fact that I’m granting you bail and adjourning the matter for (probation) reports you cannot take as any indication as to how I’m going to sentence you.

“All my sentencing options remain open and that includes the possibility of custody.”

The judge said that he may also decide to send Brown to the Crown Court for sentence on the ABH matter.

Martin Townend, mitigating, said Brown had suffered a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder following a serious road crash in 2014.

He had been assessed by Harley Street doctors who diagnosed that his cognitive functioning was “beyond repair in terms of reasoning and decision-making”.

Mr Townend said that some of Brown’s offences could be ascribed to irrational behaviour occasioned by the brain trauma he suffered from the accident.

Mr Lower warned Brown – who wore a Tartan jacket, blue tie and jeans to the hearing – that he must observe his bail conditions and co-operate with the Probation Service before sentence in seven weeks’ time.