A ‘bully’ dad has been jailed after he punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach after luring her to a remote location. Jake Hammersley, 32, launched his violent attack at Park Hall Country Park after taking his victim’s Vauxhall Corsa using a spare key.
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Hammersley – who was drunk – was initially ‘nice’ to his victim before calling her a ‘slapper’ and a ‘rat’, as well as labelling her mum ‘fatty’.
A male friend who was also present on August 28 last year told Hammersley to stop what he was doing. But instead he grabbed the back of his girlfriend’s top and repeatedly pushed her while telling her to get into the car and she stumbled. It was at this point that he bit her ear and punched her in the stomach.
Dylan Wagg, prosecuting, told the court: “She managed to get away and she shouted across the road and alerted a dog walker, she asked them to call the police but they had no phone.
“Mr Hammersley got in the car, stopped it next to her, and grabbed [the victim] from behind to drag her into the car. He struck her in the stomach – she was 13 weeks pregnant at the time – and she felt pain and cramping. She kicked and screamed and she managed to get free.”
Hammersley, of King William Street in Tunstall, has 35 previous convictions for 53 offences, including battery, two assaults and witness intimidation. He pleaded guilty to breaching his Domestic Violence Protection Order and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Jake Hammersley
Catherine O’Reilly, mitigating, said: “He lost his mum in January 2024, and he lost his daughter’s mum in October 2023. When he struggles emotionally he turns to alcohol and unfortunately alcohol doesn’t have a positive impact. He’s very eager to stop that pattern of offending. He suffers from PTSD and depression, in relation to his uncle Callum Lovatt who was killed at Dovegate in 2017, and losing his mum.
“His daughter is from a previous relationship. She is now seven and he has no contact with her. He would like to see her in the future but that will mean a paternity battle. All of this is no excuse for his unacceptable behaviour. He knows he has to change his ways and knows if he continues he will not see any of his children.”
Recorder Robert Smith concluded: “You are a violent, controlling bully. She was 13 weeks pregnant with your child when you struck her in the stomach and she felt pain and cramping. You were verbally abusive and called her a ‘slapper’, and a ‘rat’. You grabbed her top, you pushed her with force to the floor and you punched her – you left her on the floor, got in the car, drove closer to her, grabbed hold of her and tried to drag her into the car.
“You have a record of convictions for violence including in a domestic context. This was a prolonged incident – you tried to bully [the victim]. You’re a dangerous man to any woman of whom you’re in an intimate relationship with. Your victim was particularly vulnerable because she was pregnant with your child. She was a lone female drawn out to a remote location where you assaulted her. Bullies like you who assault pregnant women will always go to jail in my court.”
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