'The impact cannot be underestimated,' Judge tells 'jealous' Sheffield man who held knife to partner's collarbone

During a November 18 hearing, prosecuting barrister, Laura Marshall, told Sheffield Crown Court how defendant James Martin had been in a relationship with the complainant for ‘around two years’ prior to him launching into an attack on her on September 3 this year. Ms Marshall said that at the time of the incident, Martin was on licence following convictions for previous domestic incidents, and arrived at the complainant’s house in an ‘intoxicated state’.

“The complainant let him into the property. She believed he had changed in terms of his behaviour,” Ms Marshall said, adding that the pair then spent the afternoon ‘drinking together’. At around 11pm, by which time both Martin, Woodhouse Gardens, Woodhouse and the complainant had consumed a ‘considerable’ amount of alcohol, Martin asked if he could use the complainant’s telephone.

“He saw male friends had messaged the complainant and became angered when viewing these messages,” said Ms Marshall. She told the court that Martin then began calling the complainant names including a ‘dirty s**t’.

“He grabbed her by her forearm, dragged her around the room by her hair...at one stage he had his hands around her neck...he also threatened to kill her and poured a can of cider over her head,” Ms Marshall said. She added: “He then took a black steak knife and held it against the complainant’s collarbone, leaving her with a pierce mark.”

Martin, aged 51, subsequently left the complainant to go to the toilet. She took the opportunity to phone the police and proceeded to throw items of Martin’s clothing out of the window. He then left the property to retrieve the clothing, and the complainant locked him out.

When officers arrived on the scene, they observed he was ‘intoxicated,’ and he ‘continued to shout abusive comments’ at the complainant, continued Ms Marshall.

Following Martin’s arrest, the complainant was asked whether she wanted to make a victim impact statement to the court, but she refused.

Ms Marshall referred to the complainant’s witness statement instead, in which she described Martin as a ‘jealous man’ who had attempted to control her social life and social media. She also said her depression had been ‘made worse’ by Martin’s behaviour.

Martin was charged with, and subsequently pleaded guilty to, an offence of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing.

He has an extensive criminal record of some 65 previous offences, the court heard.

Chris Aspinall, defending, said: “He’s 51, and is finally starting to respond to help from the Probation Service.”

Mr Aspinall acknowledged that Martin has a history of ‘like’ offences, but added that he has been ‘co-operating’ with the Probation Service, and now has permanent accommodation which would be at risk should he be given an immediate prison serntence. He suggested Martin could be dealt with through a suspended sentence which would act as the ‘sword of Damocles’ hanging over him for two years.

But Judge David Dixon disagreed and jailed Martin, who he described as someone with a ‘history of abuse towards women,’ for 27 months.

“You produced a blade and held it towards her neck. The injury was relatively minor but the impact of the threat of a knife being tremendously close to her throat can not be underestimated,” Judge Dixon said.

He added: “The impact on the complainant is serious. She already had her own difficulties, but as a result of what you did, they have been made a lot worse.”

*Help and support is available for victims and survivors of domestic abuse in Sheffield. Call IDAS on 0808 808 2241.