Sheffield man jailed for 'stabbing' former partner after gaining access to her home through bathroom window

After the relationship between Harris Hussain, 24, and his partner ended, things between the pair, who have a one-year-old child together, became ‘difficult,’ David Hall, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court.

Mr Hall said that on the day of the attack on July 9 this year, Hussain’s former partner had locked all of the doors to her home in a bid to ‘keep him out,’ but he managed to gain access anyway by climbing through her open bathroom window.

“She found him upstairs, and his opening line to her was: ‘Where’s the other man,’ clearly motivated by jealousy. There was a confrontation, during which there was physical contact between them.

“Nearby there was a small Stanley knife. He picked it up. She said in her original statement that he raised his hand, and brought it down down quickly.

“Only when blood had dripped through her clothes did she realise she had been stabbed,” said Mr Hall.

The victim suffered a cut that extended down her arm and required 23 stitches, the court heard.

Mr Hall added: “She needed to call an ambulance. They attended, as did the police, and the defendant made off.”

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Mr Hall said the victim had declined to co-operate with the police investigation until after Hussain pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of a Section 20 grievous bodily harm (GBH), instead of a Section 18 GBH which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

As a result, she did not provide the court with a victim impact statement, but in a separate statement to police the woman said Hussain, of St Lawrence Road, Tinsley could have ‘killed’ her.

“I’m going to be left with a permanent scar because of him. I’d like to think he’d get a just punishment,” added the woman.

The woman has subsequently asked for a restraining order to be taken out against Hussain.

The court heard how the police were called out on eight separate occasions in 2015 over domestic violence between Hussain and the woman, and he has previously been convicted of criminal damage in relation to her.

Hussain was ‘evasive’ during his police interview, and initially claimed the woman was responsible for her injury, said Mr Hall.

He said Hussain finally acknowledged his wrong doing with his guilty plea.

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Francis Edusei, defending, said Hussain had not intended to cause the injury, and it had been inflicted through ‘recklessness’.

“He returned to court when the Crown were having difficulty with their witness and entered a guilty plea to a Section 20, knowing full well it would result in a prison sentence,” said Mr Edusei.

He added: “I know the [pre-sentence] report says he lacks an amount of remorse, but that’s not the person who has presented to me. He has expressed his sorrow and apologies to her.”

Judge David Dixon jailed Hussain for 34 months, granted a 10-year restraining order and told him he believed his offending had been motivated by ‘jealousy’.

“You are incredibly lucky she didn’t suffer more serious harm. You could have just as easily caught her artery, and she would have died,” said Judge Dixon.

He added: “I’m told you are more remorseful than the report suggests, I have trouble accepting that.”

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