A North Wiltshire man launched a violent attack on his girlfriend after a dispute about their son’s broken iPad, a court heard.
Mark Borthwick, 35, appeared before Swindon Magistrates’ Court this morning where he pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm (ABH) on Sunday evening.
It’s the Crown’s case that the defendant, of Ashfield, Ashton Keynes, had earlier that evening taken an iPad from one of his sons, breaking it in the process.
Later, after his girlfriend had put their two children to bed, the pair had a discussion about the broken device and Borthwick’s handling of the situation. However, his victim felt she wasn’t really being listened to, and an argument broke out.
The argument continued into the kitchen, where the defendant – who was intoxicated – is said to have become more aggressive. He then grabbed his victim and threw her into the back door – she collapsed to the floor and curled up in a ball. Borthwick then repeatedly punched her to the head in what was described as ‘five-minutes of rage’.
A short time later, his victim managed to flee the address to her unlocked car where she called 999. During the call, she noticed blood coming from the back of her head.
Police officers and the ambulance service arrived at the scene soon after. His victim was rushed to hospital for treatment and Borthwick was taken into custody.
At the hospital, it was found she’d suffered a large egg-shaped bump to the head with a laceration on the top of it. Doctors are said to have ‘glued her head shut’ after a four-hour wait in Accident and Emergency.
The court heard he had previous convictions for domestic violence from ‘several years ago’, and his victim has been concerned about Borthwick’s alcohol intake for some time.
Defending, his solicitor said his client has no recollection of the incident. It’s said he had been watching an international football match that afternoon whilst drinking alcohol but had consumed more than he thought.
“Blows to the head are incredibly serious, people can die from them”, District Judge Joanna Dickens told Borthwick. Adding that “drunkenness is not mitigation”.
The case was adjourned until 4 May for a pre-sentence report to be compiled.
Borthwick was released on conditional bail. He is banned from entering Ashfield, and must not contact his victim directly or indirectly other than via a specified third party for child contact. He was also told he could attend the property on one occasion accompanied by a police officer in order to collect his belongings.
