What sentence will my partner get for GBH ??

[Jenni_luvved]

I have recently been harrassed by a man, he kept emailing me, phoning me, and then turning up at my house, leaving me presents. He kept sayin he is in love with me etc, i barely even know him and i was getting really freaked out and upset by the whole thing. My fiance of 2 years has an agression problem, a few months ago he went to prison for 14 weeks for committing assault and battery. Yesterday, this man turned up at my house again and started pestering me, i told him to leave me alone, and i was upset. My partner saw red and went out side, he punched him a few times. I saw the mans face, i think his nose was broken and his eye was bleeding and his lip was split. I know he has pressed charges and gone to hospital as i called him to find out, but he told me that and hung up and wont speak to me.

I am so angry and worried. I couldnt sleep last night and i feel constantly on edge waiting for the police to turn up and take my partner away. I am 99% certain he will go back to prison for this and im terrified of being without him again, its the most unbearable feeling. Ive had such a bad year so far, im dreading this.

I dont know what to think, the worst part is that i have no idea how long he wil get. Ive read that people can get life imprisonment for gbh ???? Or up to 5 years. Im so destraught right now, as he is all ive got and i cant bear to be away from him again.

Can anyone tell me what a likely sentence wil be ??

Please, if u have an idea let me know, as im clueless.

Thanx, Jeni

[Drisgirl]

He had been emailing and harassing this poor woman before -she should have involved the Police before it reached this stage.

[Nemesis9]

Nox, I�m sorry if you have taken my criticism of your advice personally, but your hasty response appears to me to be both illogical and somewhat patronising. I neither claimed nor believe that life is like a �famous five� story, and I certainly don�t live in a �make believe land�. I daresay my own life experiences would be capable of shocking even you.
Nor, contrary to your reinterpretation of your first post have I suggested he is without some level of justification in his actions (as you say ALL men have, or at some point will resort to a level of aggressive or violent behaviour).

Without wishing to patronise you in return, please let me reiterate my original comment �there are already enough mitigating factors to provide an adequate and robust defence for him without fabricating any�. Clearly we must agree to disagree on this one, however, I don�t see any real substance to your argument that misleading the police (in the unlikely event they become involved) is justified. Surely by manipulating the events (lying) to avoid any unpleasant repercussions, this man is only going to believe that beating people up can be a �consequence free� method of sorting out his problems, and rather than dissuading him from resorting to violence in the future, it is more likely to encourage further similar actions. I agree prison is not a rehabilitator, but neither is �not getting caught�.

Besides which, he already has form, and trying to play the innocent with the police is probably more likely to get him into further bother if he isn�t believed, than telling it how it really was. Which (as we both agree) is somewhat understandable and more likely to be received sympathetically?

[noxlumos]

hi , I've not taken it personally at all and I hope you didnt think I was trying to patronise you , but I did feel obliged to respond as I really do not believe that honesty is always the best policy with the police.I have been justifiably got at by the police for the things I did and also unjustifiably got at by them on the same occasion when they were trying to persuade me (physically) to own up to lots of things I didn't do.That is where my famous five comment came from to be honest. From my own personal experience I have found the police as capable as the next man of violence and as such don't believe in this case that the lady who asked the question is best served by being 100% honest. I'm sorry but I still feel that way. This is not a serious crime in the big scheme of things and hopefully her bf will have the sense to see this as a near miss and have a word with himself. I agree to some degree that the Police are fairly likely to be sympathetic but if I were he, I'd not take the risk, but then I've been burned by them in the past and so am probably very biased in that respect.If we're honest we both know the police won't be involved so it's a moot point, but I posted just to explain my attitude and reasoning a bit more as I know my naturally sarcastic turn of phrase can come off as a bit arrogant and patronising sometimes.

[Nemesis9]

Not a problem nox, as I said earlier, I rarely find your advice to be anything other than sensitive, sound and reliable, and in truth I don�t think our views on this occasion are materially different. My only real point of contention is that I don�t think they need to �embellish� their story in order to be treated sympathetically should (and we both agree, it seems unlikely) the police get involved.
Moreover, my view is that stretching the truth could actually backfire if they are not believed (which bearing in mind he has previous form, is a distinct possibility), this would only raise unnecessary additional suspicions over his actions and behaviour. The result being that he and his girlfriend would then probably be treated with less understanding, and more distrust than perhaps they ought to be.
As you say it�s a �moot point�, and I have to concede �honesty is not always the best policy� (particularly when asked �Does my bum look big in this?�).

[Ladyboyg1]

As far as i can see , it is a 'no win' situation....If your fiance is sent to prison this will do absolutely nothing to address his obvious issues, but on the other hand if nothing is done then he is simply going to feel that his behaviour was acceptable and will continue down the path of self desruction.. possibly taking you with him.
For most men with anger issues , it is the act of recognition which is the biggest step, unfortunately a large proportion of men do not have the requisite capabilities to even consider that they are in some way responsible for their own actions..x

[NikkiB]

Surely your partner saw you upset, saw the affect this stalker-type person had on you and understandably lost his temper. If the creature who has been bothering you hasn't contacted the police yet, it may well be because he knows he has more to worry about via unwelcome attentions than your fiance has with a couple of punches.
Either way, you are not to blame for any of this and I hope you get peace of mind.

[Jenni_luvved]

Thanx 4 everyones support, it is needed as im havin quite a bad time....

Well nuthins happened as of yet, the police havt been for him so i really have no idea whats going 2 happen, im starting 2 think he hasnt contacted the police but im not going 2 b 2 sure of that, as u never no, either way i wil keep u updated

I havnt told the police about him stalking me simply because i got sexually assaulted once a couple of years back and wen i went 2 the police, it was denyed and they didnt believe me, i went thru hell goin 2 court and everythin, and in the end i just got no justice, and its put me off goin 2 the police again, as i dont want people 2 think im just attention seeking.

Also, I have thought a lot about what if my boyrfriend ever turned on me, 2 b honest i doubt he will, my ex beat me up 2 and so i am very edgy sometimes and paranoid, but i think all i can do is trust that he wont, and if he ever did, wel i suppose it would have 2 end

xx

[alien2001]

Sounds more like ABH than GBH to me - or even a "lesser" public order offence.

5 years is max for ABH.
5 years is max for s20 GBH.
Life is max for s18 GBH.

for s18 GBH there must be intent to do the GBH. With s20, GBH has to be the result, but the level of intention is less. You only have to show intent for assault/battery.

Although the "victim"'s input is important, they cannot press charges except through a private criminal prosecution which is very rare. They can take a civil action for damages.

It is for the CPS to decide on behalf of the Crown whether to prosecute. I think they would take into account all the circumstances and the likelihood of a conviction - especially given the possibility of a self-defence claim.

I wonder if he might just be "cautioned" and it would stop at that - but don't want to get your hopes up and don't have enough experience of this.

If he was convicted, then its highly unlikely he would get the maximum sentence. The surrounding circumstances would be taken into account - as would a plea of guilty.

[alien2001]

oh just one more thing. You say "back to prison". If he is on probation, then perhaps he is at a greater risk of being sent back to serve the rest of his previous sentence than from receiving a substantial sentence for this offence.

[alien2001]

Correction to my first post. For a s20 GBH the intention needed is that he intended "some harm" or foresaw that harm might result from his action and proceeded regardless.

As I say, it sounds like the injury was not serious enough to be considered GBH.

[saunders123]

hi im studying a degree in law i know that gbh with intent can be upto life imprisonment and the gbh non intent is up to 5 years. if he has commited similar offence before then they may use his past conviction

sorry to hear hope everything works out