Spitting thug 'tortured' partner and attacked her with kitchen stool during prolonged Wakefield assault

Ian Flavell was found guilty after a trial at Leeds Crown Court of causing actual bodily harm (ABH).

He was cleared of a second ABH charge stemming from a different occasion.

Prosecutor Lydia Carroll said the woman had been at home on March 10, 2021, with her children upstairs in bed.

Flavell and the woman had been in the kitchen talking when he became irate.

He lunged towards her and put two hands around her neck, dragging her to the sofa and put his knee on her neck.

She managed to wriggle free and get out of the house, but was dragged back into the property by Flavell. He hit her with the stool and a mop, it was claimed, and spat at her.

The children were woken and came downstairs, but the woman made excuses to them saying that she had fallen.

Flavell left the property. The 43-year-old was arrested and interviewed twice, saying he had probably caused bruises to her but said they happened while he was trying to restrain her.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said her life and those of her children “changed forever” that night when she said Flavell “decided to attack and torture her for hours”.

She said she was forced to leave Yorkshire and her job because Flavell worked at the same care home, saying she felt that she had “lost everything”.

Flavell, of Northfield Lane, South Kirkby, has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Shila Whitehead said there was little she could offer due to Flavell’s persistent denial of the offence, but he accepted he had to be sentence.

Make sure you don’t miss any of the breaking news and biggest headlines from Leeds with our free daily newsletter

Judge Neil Clark said the details given during the trial appeared to be “confused” but said: “Whatever was going on here, children were in the house.

“It happened over a period of time of some length. Exactly what happened is unclear. It was clearly a prolonged incident, you used violence and you were aggressive.”

He acknowledged Flavell was now in a new relationship and there had been no further domestic issues.

He gave him a one-year jail sentence, suspended for two years. He was also given 200 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation days with probation and a five-year restraining order to prevent him contacting his ex.