A violent and abusive man will avoid jail after brutally attacking his girlfriend. During the attack, he stubbed out cigarettes on the young woman’s neck and poured bleach on her.
The bully is named Ryan Barr, but he is also known as Romeo Barr. The victim was a student at Liverpool, who was reportedly subjected to “disgusting” abuse.
Barr reportedly spat on the young woman, kicked her, and bit her face. He also abused the woman’s dog and made her watch. He also made the woman take out loans for him, and left her with more than £5,000 of debt.
The court heard that Barr changed his ways and helps to care for his nan, so he was able to avoid jail time. Barr was previously convicted of assault against the same woman, and on that occasion, he failed to comply with the requirements of his deal.
The court heard that the pair developed a relationship and quickly moved in together. Barr was nice at first, but became abusive as soon as they started living together.
Prosecutor Louise McCloskey also noted that Barr had an alcohol problem, and was very jealous and controlling. He would not allow her to go out with friends or attend university, and on one occasion he even smashed her phone.
“The defendant would become aggressive in drink, call her names such as ‘slag’, spit on her and throw things around. This behaviour then began to develop even when the defendant was not in drink,” McCloskey said, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Ms McCloskey said the victim described being, “hit with a hairbrush or remote control, having her hair pulled, him stubbing out cigarettes on her back or her neck when she was asleep, and an occasion when bleach was poured on her and she described it taking days to remove the smell from her body”.
Judge Andrew Menary, QC, was not impressed by the fact that Barr seemed to have no remorse for his actions.
“It’s not a great start that on the face of it, he has comprehensively lied to the Probation Service,” Menary said.
Ultimately, the judge ordered Barr to pay £500 in compensation to the victim and imposed a two-year restraining order.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales showed that an estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 experienced domestic abuse in the last year. The police recorded 758,941 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales, which is an increase of 9% from the previous year.
