Controlling Leeds partner surveilled girlfriend during 19-hour video call
The court heard how he “exhibited controlling behaviours” from the start
A controlling Leeds partner, who surveilled his girlfriend during a 19-hour FaceTime call, has escaped jail.
Andrew Harrison received a suspended sentence at Leeds Crown Court this week after pleading guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour, and threats with a bladed article on the second day of his trial.
The court heard how he “exhibited controlling behaviours” from the start of their seven-month relationship.
Harrison added his finger print to the woman’s phone and would “check it daily,” blocking contacts and restricting her communication with friends, Prosecutor Victoria Ball said.
Harrison allowed the woman “no freedom” and demanded that she be on video call whenever he was not in the house. One of these calls lasted for 19 hours, the court heard.
Ms Ball told the court that Harrison, of Nowell Parade, Harehills, installed CCTV inside the home to monitor the woman and had her benefits payments transferred directly to him.
She added that on one occasion the defendant walked into the kitchen as she was making dinner, held a blade to her forearm and threatened to “slice” her.
In a victim impact statement, the court heard how the woman’s mental health has been “destroyed” and is “constantly anxious.”
She now has “trust issues” and has been forced to move away due to her fear.
Offering mitigation, defence counsel Paul Canfield admitted that their was “very little” he could say, but that his client’s guilty pleas was his best defence.
Judge Tom Bayliss sentenced Harrison to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He also made him subject to an indefinite-length restraining order and reminded him that it would be a “very serious criminal offence” if he were to try contact the woman again.