Man assaulted girlfriend before trying to persuade her to ‘drop the charge’

Luke Savine turned violent when he became angry after Rachel Kelly refused to go back to Stamford with him.

Mark Achurch, prosecuting, told the court “She made it plain that she wasn’t going back. The defendant became angry. He clenched his fists and she said there was then a punch to her neck which knocked her onto her bottom before he ran away.

“That caused Miss Kelly to do her best to block the defendant from her social media accounts. He tried to contact her but she didn’t answer. She had overlooked one account and received a message from him begging her to speak to him.”

Mr Achurch said that she contacted police but Savine then asked her to retract her statement.

Four months later when the relationship had been over for several weeks Savine managed to contact her again after she began using a new mobile phone and forgot to block his calls.

“She received a call from him and they poke briefly. She thought that he was drunk and slurring his words. He asked if he could come to see her but she made it clear he wasn’t welcome.

“He knocked on her door asking to speak to her. She spoke to him through the window. He was screaming and shouting at her. He was repeatedly asking her to drop the charge against him from the previous assault. She told him to go away. He then began kicking the back door.”

Miss Kelly later went into Stamford town centre where she was approached by Savine who grabbed her by the arm. She then returned home but Savine turned up again. He barged past her friend and went into the property causing Miss Kelly to leave.

Savine, 30, of The Brambles, Deeping St James admitted a charge of common assault as a result of the first incident on 19 October 2019 and two charges of assault by beating on 18 January this year. He also admitted a charge of witness intimidation.

Tim Brown, in mitigation, said that Savine has spent time in custody since January which had given him time to reflect on his life

“He is highly motivate to change. This was wholly unacceptable behaviour.”

Savine was given a 13 month jail sentence suspended for 18 months with 100 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days. He was also ordered to attend a building better relationships course which lasts for 26 sessions.

He was given a restraining order banning him from contacting Rachel Kelly for five years and from entering Northumberland Avenue, Stamford.