More on KentOnline
Home Folkestone News Article
A thug has been jailed after stripping a woman and battering her head against a bathroom sink in what a judge described as an act of “sexual humiliation.”
Jack Petts also throttled her shouting “I’m going to kill you” after dragging her to the bathroom floor in Folkestone.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered nightmares and anxiety up to nine months after the sustained attack.
Petts, 24, has now been jailed at Canterbury Crown Court for 21 months following a three day trial.
The railway worker pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage but a jury acquitted him of sexual assault.
“The complainant tried getting him away (after the attack) and he grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the underside of the sink.
“She was injured - she had bruising, swelling and grazes to her face and body,” prosecutor Amy Nicholson told the jury.
Raging Petts then pushed her onto a bed and smashed her Xbox computer console and mobile phone on the wall behind her, in view of a child.
Petts then fled the property as she alerted a friend in a text: “He beat me bad - I’m in bad shape.”
Covered in bruises, with swelling to her head, she was treated at Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital, where scans revealed no broken bones.
Petts was arrested and gave a no comment police interview, however, he would later tell the authorities he acted in self-defence.
But when confronted with overwhelming evidence before trial Petts changed his plea, yet continued to play down his role in the attack, claiming he accidentally injured the woman during a scuffle.
Judge Rupert Lowe scolded Petts for his lies and “furious” assault, which happened in Folkestone in December 2019, describing it an act of “sexual humiliation.”
“Intent on sexual humiliation, you ripped her knickers off her legs as she went to the floor to try and protect herself.
“All the time knowing a two year-old was in the house and hearing everything, you took her by the hair of her head and banged it against the porcelain sink multiple times, doing your best to harm her as much as you could, telling her you were going to kill her.
“You took her by the throat and squeezed to make her think she was going to be strangled and placed your other hand over her mouth and nose.
"And then, when she was able to get out of the bathroom, you stopped her and pushed her onto the bed where you continued to vent your fury.”
“Intent on sexual humiliation, you ripped her knickers off her legs as she went to the floor to try and protect herself..."
His victim told the court she still suffered anxiety and nightmares up to nine months after the horrifying ordeal.
Petts has three previous convictions, including affray and criminal damage after throwing bar stools and pool balls around in a pub, the court heard.
Petts, of Middle Mead in Folkestone, remained passive in the dock throughout sentencing, where he was also handed a 10 year restraining order.
For information on how we can report on court proceedings, click here.