A violent thug who carried out an horrific attack on his partner, as she held one of their two children, has been locked up.
Stefan Przygodski kicked open the bathroom door and dragged his partner off the loo, on December 4. Then, as she held their screaming child, Przygodski punched and headbutted her.
His partner made a harrowing call to 999 for help – as the couple’s two children were heard crying out in distress. Teesside Crown Court has heard that the little boy was injured in his Skelton home that evening, but Przygodski was not charged with any crime against the toddler.
On Wednesday, Przygodski, 49, held his head in his hands and wept and the court listened to the harrowing recording of the 999 call that his now ex-partner made. There was banging in the background as Przygodski repeatedly tried to kick the bathroom door open.
He can be heard to shout: “I’ll f****** kill you!” as the victim begs, “please help me” to the operator. The woman is heard screaming in pain, as she says: “You just kicked the toilet door open and dragged me off the toilet”. He tells his partner: “The next time I see you, I’m going to destroy you.”
The victim suffered cuts to her nose, ear and cheek. She had bruising on her chin and a black eye. The police arrived and arrested Przygodski – he told them he “was out of order and didn’t mean to cause the injuries.”
Przygodski pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm at a previous hearing. He has seven previous convictions for 16 offences, which include robbery.
In mitigation, John Nixon told the court that Przygodski “suffered appalling abuse and trauma” as a child and that the couple had been in a relationship for 12 years “with no incidents.” He added: “When he heard the 999 call played to him – which is utterly harrowing to listen to – he was devastated to hear that.”
Mr Nixon said that his client had a steady job “before suffering from chronic injuries with chronic pain relief. The medication he is on does not sit well with alcohol..”
Judge Tom Mitchell told the court: “The young boy was injured in the event. The defendant was not charged with that. He cannot be punished for that.”
Przygodski sobbed as the judge said: “That phone call bears out the reality of domestic violence. Those that hear it can know what real domestic violence sounds like. This was Victorian domestic violence.
“There was terror. It was demeaning. There was screaming. She was dragged off the toilet. She had her lad in her arms. She was punched. The lad was injured – you are only charged with the assault of your partner. What is saddest about this is with your background – you have suffered at the hands of others – you know the terror. This was horrific sustained punishment intended to demoralise and degrade.”
The judge said that he had taken Przygodski’s remorse and history of providing for his other children, into account. Przygodski, of Windermere Drive in Skelton, was jailed for 16 months.
“This is the reality of domestic violence,” the judge added, “this is what judges up and down the country see day in and day out. This will be met with condign punishment.”
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