Violent man jailed for assaulting woman in her home

Friday 28 June 2019

A 50-year-old with a poor criminal record and a "sense of entitlement to use violence by way of control or restraint" has been jailed for 12 months after he restrained and slapped a woman, causing abrasions, swelling and bruises to her face and arms.

Andrew Leslie Rawlinson appeared in Royal Court today facing one charge of common assault, following an incident that took place at the victim's home in the afternoon of 2 February 2019.

The Court heard that an argument started between Rawlinson and the woman over whether she had been drinking. She became agitated and Rawlinson placed his hands on her shoulder to calm her, but when that didn’t work, he slapped her on either side of her face.

He then apparently tried to stop the woman from leaving by holding her shoulders and told her they needed to “discuss matters further.”

The Court heard that Rawlinson then got the woman on the ground, where she continued to struggle. He placed his hands on either side of her face to hold her head still and tried to make eye contact. He accepted he may have hurt her mouth in doing so.  

He then moved away, picked up a wooden stick and threw it against a wall, although not directly at the woman, according to his version of events.

The victim ran away and said she “kept running until I felt safe.” She went to a local pub where she stayed until staff called the police after asking her to leave the bar.  She told the officers she had been assaulted and suffered an injury to her head. Rawlinson was arrested shortly after. 

A Forensic Medical Examiner (FME) found multiple minor injuries on the woman’s face, head, right elbow and left hand, including swelling, bruises and abrasions. Some bruises and abrasions were also found on Rawlinson but he told the FME he may have cut himself whilst shaving.

He claimed that on the day of the incident, which lasted a maximum of five minutes, the woman went “off the rails” and “berserk.” He also said she scratched his face while swinging her arms around. 

Rawlinson said the woman had gone for him first during the altercation. He later said “we both went for each other” and were “rolling around” on the floor as he attempted to restrain her.

He admitted he may have “accidentally” caught the woman with an open hand to the left side of her face whilst restraining her, but said it hadn’t been hard, or intentional. 

He also told Officers he thought the woman had taken something as her eyes “were rolling around in her head” and she was hyperactive.

Pictured: HM Attorney General, Robert MacRae, was prosecuting.

HM Attorney General Robert MacRae told Court this wasn’t the first time Rawlinson had assaulted the woman and that he had been jailed for six months for punching her in the face and delivering several blows to her body.

The Court heard that Rawlinson had 17 convictions in relation to 42 offences, including several for violence. 

He described Rawlinson as having a “controlling behaviour” and a history of convictions for violence. He went on to say Rawlinson felt entitled “to use violence on the people he has relationships with” and generally blamed his victims and their respective difficulties for his own actions.

“There is a clear pattern to his behaviour,” the Attorney General said, adding that Rawlinson was not willing to change his behaviour but rather minimised his actions and culpability.

He moved for a 18-month prison sentence as well as a restraining order.

Pictured: The Attorney General recommended an 18-month prison sentence.

Advocate Sarah Dale, defending, told Court that Rawlinson “didn’t set out to hurt” the woman on the day of the incident but that his actions had been “a culmination of his frustration.”

She said there had been no provocation, but pointed out that Rawlinson mentioned the woman had been agitated and that her arms were in the air.

Advocate Dale went on to deny Rawlinson was trying to minimise his actions but fully accepted his guilt. “He is very sorry for what he has done and the hurt he has caused,” she told Court, adding that Rawlinson wanted to apologise to the woman.

Pictured: The Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, was presiding.

Returning the sentence, the Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq QC, who was sitting with Jurats Collette Crill and Steven Austin-Vautier, said that violence often characterised Rawlinson’s relationships with women and noted his “sense of entitlement to use violence by way of control or restraint.”

He imposed a restraining order for five years before sentencing Rawlinson to 12 months in prison. 

“You were given on a number of occasions the opportunity to address your offending with a non-custodial disposal, clearly this is not available to you anymore and this has failed,” he told Rawlinson. “We strongly urge you to engage with whatever help is available to you to ensure, if it is possible, that you do not come back before us.”