South Yorkshire thug is jailed after attacking his ex-partner and later telling her 'run, Forrest, run'

Sheffield Crown Court heard on January 6 how Anthony Hymer, aged 55, of Rose Grove, Wombwell, Barnsley, grabbed his ex-partner by the neck in her kitchen and pushed her into a worktop and then pushed her in the chest so hard she fell and banged her head.

Matthew Burdon, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was living at her address during the first lockdown following the Covid emergency and there was an incident on May 2, 2020, resulting in her asking the defendant to leave the address.”

Mr Burdon added that there was an altercation in the kitchen of Hymer’s ex-partner’s home the following day, May 3, 2020, when the defendant told her ‘if I ever see you again, I am going to kill you’.

Mr Burdon said: “He reached out with his right hand and grabbed her by the neck and she fell back with some force and was pushed against a worktop.”

Hymer’s ex-partner had been struggling to breathe, according to Mr Burdon, before he pushed her in the chest and she fell and banged her head.

The complainant stated that when she underwent a scan as part of her checks for breast cancer she was told she had suffered broken ribs which she believed had been sustained following Hymer’s assault.

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a magistrates’ court trial.

Mr Burdon said Hymer’s ex-partner started to get texts from him not long after the assault and they became of a possessive and jealous nature.

She also received phone calls and further messages, and the messages were of a derogatory nature, according to Mr Burdon.

Mr Burdon added that Hymer’s ex-partner also ran away when she saw him walking towards her while she was walking her dog and on another occasion she saw him driving past her and waving.

Hymer also sent a message quoting the Forrest Gump movie, stating ‘run, Forrest, run. Ha-ha’, which the complainant believed was a reference to her running away from him when he had been walking towards her.

The defendant also wrote a letter to the complainant apologising about his behaviour, according to Mr Burdon, but it still caused his ex-partner further upset.

Hymer pleaded guilty to harassing his ex-partner between June, 2020, and October, 2020.

Dale Harris, defending, claimed the purpose of the letter was to apologise and it also went some way to expressing Hymer’s remorse for his actions.

He said: “In some ways it is very much a double-edged sword for the defendant and I accept it’s receipt may have caused the victim some distress.

"I would ask the court to accept that was not its purpose.”

Mr Harris also said that Hymer is a working man but if her goes to custody he will lose his job.

Recorder Kate Batty told Hymer that for offences of this gravity there can only be one outcome and she sentenced the defendant to 20 months of custody.