Dad beat up partner over prostitute confession

A man beat up his girlfriend and tried to stick a £20 note in her mouth because he couldn't deal with the fact she had worked as a prostitute, a court has heard.
Wigan and Leigh CourthouseWigan and Leigh Courthouse
Wigan and Leigh Courthouse

Wigan Magistrates Court heard how Mark Jones, 48, slapped and kicked his girlfriend at the time Dewi Gordon because he was having trouble coming to terms with the fact she had previously worked as a prostitute.

The court heard that the couple had been in an on and off relationship for around four years after meeting on the internet and had not long moved in together a his home on Kay Street in Atherton, when she admitted having accepted money for sex in the past.

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Alan Bakker, prosecuting, said: “The couple first moved in together in 2013. He was curious about her past and would question it. She told him she used to be a prostitute and he reacted badly, shouting abuse at her, calling her a scumbag, worthless and cheap. There is an allegation of previous domestic abuse but this was never reported to the police.”

The couple separated and Miss Gordon returned to Bali before moving back to Manchester. They restablished contact for a while but Miss Gordon then moved to Lincoln, where she had originall been living when the pair met online, and they stopped speaking.

“It wasn’t until February 2015 that they began speaking to each other again and in December 2015 they moved in together again,” Mr Bakker continued.

“Things started to get worse between the two parties and on April 24 they had been out for dinner. After his teenage son had gone upstairs, the defendant became abusive towards her and called her names.

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“At about 11.30pm that night, the complainant had gone upstairs and was lying on their bed. The defendant came in and dragged her off.

“He then slapped her in the face twice causing her to fall back onto the bed. He dragged off again and kicked her twice in the back. He then followed her downstairs, pushed her onto the sofa and placed his hands around her neck.

“He then tried to put a £20 note into her mouth.”

Karen Schofield, defending, said that Jones had no previous convictions and was remorseful for what happened.

She said: “Mr Jones had tried hard to make the relationship work and he knows now that it was futile.

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“The relationship progressed very quickly. She moved in with him and became a part of his and his son’s life. They became a family unit.

“He then finds out she has worked as a prostitute and that she was still doing it when they first got together. He couldn’t get his head around it.

“That is when he should have ended the relationship and moved on. She went away and he had no way of contacting her but she knew where he was because he hadn’t gone anywhere.

“She contacted him trying to get the relationship back together. He still has feelings for her but he could not get past the fact that when they were together she had clearly been with other men and taken money for it. As he saw it, she didn’t need to because he was capable of taking care of her.

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“It was under the influence of alcohol that these emotions he had been trying to suppress were brought back to the surface and he was unable to dal with them.”

Jones was given a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activitiy requirement of 20 days and 120 hours unpaid work.

A 12-month restraining order was also put in place, banning Jones from contacting Miss Gordon directly or indirectly. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.

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