‘It was not an accident. He has accepted that there was an assault using the door’
Benjamin Davis admitted an offence of assaulting a woman, causing actual bodily harm(Image: Hull Live)
A woman was left with injures after her bad-tempered boyfriend forced open a door that had been “closed in his face” – and pushed it back at her, hitting her. Ex-pig farmer Benjamin Davis was heavily “intoxicated” at the time that a “commotion” broke out at her home, Hull Crown Court heard.
Davis, 35, of Frome Road, east Hull, admitted an offence of assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, between November 21 and 24, 2023. He originally denied the matter and the case had been listed for trial but he changed his plea.
Michael Masson, prosecuting, said that Davis and the woman had been in a relationship and they were living together at the time. There was an argument about Davis being intoxicated.
The woman shut the door to her home behind Davis but there was a “commotion” when he tried to get back in again. She went to close the door but Davis forced it open, hitting her face and causing injuries.
It was an impulsive, spontaneous and short-lived assault, said Mr Masson. Some level of psychological harm was caused. The offence was made worse by the level of intoxication of Davis and that it happened in the woman’s home.
Jane Rapin, mitigating, said: “This is simply pushing back a door that has been closed in his face.” There had been no further incidents in the three years since the offence.
“He realises now, looking back, that he wasn’t in the right relationship,” said Miss Rapin. “He fully accepts responsibility for his actions and what he did that evening.
“He expressed regret that he was upset and that he caused the harm. In the three years since, he has effectively rehabilitated himself.
“He doesn’t want to just jump into a new relationship. He is taking a more mature approach to relationships and life in general.”
Father-of-three Davis had previously worked as a pig farmer but he was now a fabricator and welder. He had very limited previous convictions and the most recent of them was in 2011.
Recorder Gordon Stables said: “It was not an accident. He has accepted that there was an assault using the door. It was pushed into her face. The injuries are not pleasant.”
Davis was given a 25-week suspended prison sentence, with no requirements. He was ordered to pay £500 compensation, £500 costs and a £154 victims’ surcharge.
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