A violent man has been locked up for a non-fatal-strangulation – among the first convictions for this offence for Nottinghamshire Police.
Mark Stevenson, aged 41, grabbed a woman around her neck, lifting her off the floor and causing her to struggle to breath, during a terrifying incident in the Clifton area on 10 August 2022.
After Stevenson let go, the survivor went to find her inhaler but he grabbed it off her, preventing her from using it, before leaving the address.
Stevenson, of Bagthorpe Close, Sherwood, was found guilty of intentional strangulation and was jailed for 21 months when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (14 November 2022).
He was also made subject of a three-year restraining order.
New powers enabling prosecutors to charge violent abusers with specific offences of non-fatal strangulation and non-fatal suffocation, as key measures in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, came into force in June.
Superintendent Justine Wilson, head of Nottinghamshire Police’s public protection unit, said: “I hope now Stevenson has been locked up this survivor is now able to move on from the violent and terrifying ordeal she was put through.
“She deserves a huge amount of credit for reporting this incident to police and I hope her brave actions encourage anyone else who has been affected by domestic abuse to contact us, either directly or indirectly, so that we can protect them.
“As a force we treat domestic abuse extremely seriously and will respond swiftly and robustly to reports made to us.
“Our public protection department is always working proactively and doing its utmost to protect vulnerable individuals and I am very proud of our officers who are constantly striving to go the extra mile to ensure survivors are protected and offenders rightly prosecuted.
“I want to reassure anyone who is suffering domestic abuse that Nottinghamshire Police is here to help and support you – you are not alone.
“If you are in danger, please call 999 and we will come to your aid.”
For more advice on domestic abuse, including how to report it and organisations able to provide support, click the following link.
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