Man pinned girlfriend down and locked her in bedroom as she tried to end relationship
The ordeal left a Sheffield student in the “worst emotional state”
A “controlling” man pinned his girlfriend down and locked her in his bedroom for several hours when she attempted to end their relationship.
Benjamin Lawrenson, then 20, met the woman a short time after she began a course at Sheffield Hallam University.
During their “intense,” month-long relationship, the woman felt Lawrenson was displaying “signs of being controlling” and sought to isolate her from her friends, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
Curtis Dunkley, prosecuting, said the complainant to feel she had to “dress in a particular way” and had to send him pictures of what she was wearing when she went out.
The court heard Lawrenson’s behaviour escalated even further when his girlfriend attempted to end the relationship, whilst the pair were at his home.
Judge Graham Reeds KC said: “During the course of an argument where your partner wanted to leave and end the relationship, you were having none of it.
“You locked her in your bedroom and sat on her so she wouldn’t leave. The offence took place over five hours until she fell asleep.”
Lawrenson, formerly of Sheffield but now of Woodland Drive, Selby, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment.
Judge Reeds added: “The false imprisonment was at the end of a period of behaviour which can properly be described as controlling and coercive behaviour.”
He noted Lawrenson had not been charged with an offence in relation to that aspect of his conduct.
The complainant said the ordeal had left her in the “worst emotional state,” and has resulted in her struggling to sleep and fearing being left alone.
Defending, Michael Cane-Soothill said Lawrenson, now 24, has now “lost his good character.”
In the four years since the offences, Lawrenson has worked to rebuild his life through family relationships and employment, his barrister said.
Judge Reeds sentenced Lawrenson to 46 weeks’ custody, suspended for 18 months.
He ordered Lawrenson to complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 180 hours of unpaid work, and imposed a two-year restraining order