Hull Crown Court heard that his ‘views towards women’ were a serious concern
Reece Drew admitted offences of intentional suffocation and assaulting the woman(Image: Humberside Police)
A violent bully attacked and strangled his girlfriend during two frightening confrontations after a bad-tempered argument suddenly erupted about him keeping very quiet about his previous relationships with women. Reece Drew angrily picked her up and threw her into a plastic tub and onto a sofa during one incident and, during the other, he pinned her up against a wall and strangled her.
His “views towards women” were a serious concern and his main problem was alcohol, Hull Crown Court heard.
Drew, 30, of Dee Street, off Hessle Road, west Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted offences of intentional suffocation and assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm.
Samantha Laws, prosecuting, said that Drew and the woman were in a relationship for about six months but, at the end of October last year, the relationship was not as positive as it had been. Drew had been given a five-year sexual harm prevention order in March last year, not linked in any way to his girlfriend, and he had already been sentenced for breaching it.
The woman that he was in the relationship with was not aware of the order but one of the conditions of it was that he should tell any woman that he was in a relationship with about it. He did not do this, however.
During the night of November 22 to 23 last year, Drew was at the woman’s home in the early hours when there was an argument at about 5am about him not telling her the truth about the women he had been seeing and having relationships with in the past. “He picked her up by her arms and told her to shut up,” said Miss Laws.
“He was shaking her violently by her arms. He was squeezing hard. He threw her into a plastic tub next to her sofa. He picked her up again and threw her back on the sofa.”
The woman was left scared and shaken up, with bruises. They later reconciled through text messages and Drew asked her to go to his house on November 29 last year.
A friend of his was there and the woman wanted to leave after a few hours. “Because she wanted to leave, this caused another argument,” said Miss Laws.
Drew pinned the woman up against a wall and he put his hands around her throat, squeezing her neck, and he threw her onto the floor. She called 999 to report the incident.
Drew was arrested in Silver Street, Hull, on February 26 this year. He had convictions for 11 previous offences, most of them domestic-related and including harassment and making threats to kill.
Rachel Scott, mitigating, said that Drew had been in custody on remand for about nine months. He had done courses, gained qualifications and made positive changes.
Drew had shown empathy and remorse and his risk could be managed in the community, despite his “views towards women”. He had a son and this was his motivation to be a better person.
“He does want to address the issues that he has to avoid a return to custody,” said Miss Scott. “This defendant’s main problem is alcohol.”
Recorder Shufkat Khan told Drew: “The seriousness of these offences can only be met through an immediate custodial sentence.” Drew was jailed for two years.
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