A MOTHER-OF-FOUR who was the victim of a serious attack by her ex-partner has spoken out about her disappointment at the sentence he received.
Darren Lindsay received a suspended sentence along with a community service order and an order to pay compensation at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to assaulting the mother of his son in her home on November 24, 2019.
Darren Lindsay
The victim, of Helmshore, said the sentence was too light relative to the seriousness of the assault she suffered and that it sends out an extremely poor message to other women who may be at risk.
She said: “I feel that the system has failed, I’ve been failed and it really makes me concerned about other women. Victims of domestic violence have been failed in this way.
“It was horrific what happened to me.
The victim suffered horrific injuries
“My family were gobsmacked that he’s just walked away from this.”
She says that she attacked by Lindsay when he entered her home in the early hours of November 24, some of which took place in front of their two-year-old son.
Lindsay, 35, was arrested shortly afterwards and pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm and to damaging property.
In total, his sentence consisted of a suspended 12-month prison sentence, 30 days of rehabilitation requirements and 120 hours of unpaid community work.
The victim is concerned about other women who may be in similar situations
Lindsay, of The Spinnings, Waterside Road, Summerseat, was also required to pay £5,000 compensation and a £149 statutory victim surcharge and is subject to a restraining order to his ex-partner for five years.
However, she believes that convicting Lindsay of a Section 20 offence, which states that the wounding was carried out without intent, is unjust in light of the assault she suffered.
Instead, she says, he should have been subject to a Section 18 offence, which states that grievous bodily harm was inflicted with intent, and that he received a lesser conviction simply to ensure that he would plead guilty.
The victim also feels let down that she was not given the opportunity to give evidence.
She said: “I was also really disappointed I didn’t get the chance to go before the judge and explain what he’d done to me.”
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