Father-of-five from Canterbury, just released from prison, dragged girlfriend by her hair and threw her ‘like a rag doll’

A drink and drug-addled father of five who had just been released from prison dragged his girlfriend by the hair and threw her “like a rag doll”.

The woman was desperately trying to flee her home in Canterbury on Christmas Eve last year when Sam Richards violently assaulted her.

As she sat astride the flat window, while a friend outside helped her escape, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back inside.

But the 43-year-old’s strength caused her to slam into a table and the floor, causing the Christmas tree to fall and leaving her with what she feared was a dislocated hip.

When she finally managed to escape, she was forced to hide in panic in a nearby garden while an enraged Richards conducted a search, shouting profanities and threatening that he would kill her.

He was subsequently arrested with what appeared to be a self-inflicted cut on his cheek which he blamed on his partner.

Richards, formerly of Tennyson Avenue, Canterbury, later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

During his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, October 9, Canterbury Crown Court heard that the suspect and his girlfriend had been in a relationship for around nine years at the time of the attack.

Prosecutor Paul Valder said both were “abusing alcohol and crack cocaine” and had been drinking lager and vodka in the city center as well as taking drugs for several hours before the incident on December 24 last year.

The couple, along with a friend, then returned to her ground floor flat on Tennyson Avenue in the early hours, where Richards is said to have “started up” with his partner.

“She tried to calm him down, but he got angrier and angrier and then backhanded her in the face with his right hand, causing her to stumble,” Valder told the court.

“She ran to the front door, which she tried to open but could only go a short distance before the defendant kicked it shut.”

The woman’s friend, who was in the communal hallway, had also tried to help by pushing on the door from outside, but Richards was leaning against it so she shouted at the victim to run to the front of her flat.

Mr Valder continued: ‘She ran into the front room, opened a window and tried to climb out as her friend pulled her from outside.

“But as she stood astride the threshold, the defendant grabbed her hair from behind, pulled her back into the room and, as she describes it, ‘threw me like a rag doll across the front room.’

“He threw her so hard that she fell to the floor, hit her head on the living room table and toppled the Christmas tree.”

Despite having a lump in her hip and bruising above her right eye, she was able to get up and flee her apartment.

“She ran into the road but describes herself falling to the ground as if her hip had been dislocated,” the prosecutor added.

“She was then assisted again by her friend while the defendant was shouting from her flat.

“She told her boyfriend, ‘He’s going to kill me’ and they ended up hiding in a nearby garden while they called the police.

“The defendant ran up and down the street looking for her, yelling that she was a ‘slug’ and that he was going to kill her.”

After his arrest, Richards denied knowing how she suffered injuries, but said she cut him.

But the court was told he walked away in the street without injury, and blood was later found in the bathroom.

“The inference is that the defendant inflicted the injury on himself so that he could shift the blame to his partner,” Valder explains.

Although the victim was taken to hospital, the court was told there was no medical evidence to support her fears that she had suffered a dislocated hip.

Richards, who has previous convictions for assault and breaching no-abuse orders, was said to have “just” been released from prison when the attack happened.

He was therefore recalled on license, but has been in pre-trial detention for this offense since February.

Arguing that Richards was therefore now “served”, his lawyer James Harrison described the “significant improvements” he had made in his life while behind bars.

These include gaining qualifications, addressing his substance abuse and mental health issues, obtaining better prisoner status and obtaining positive references from prison staff.

Mr Harrison also informed the court of the assistance Richards had received from his local church group, including the promise of shelter and work upon release.

“In December last year, alcohol and drugs were a major problem for Mr Richards. “The time he spent on remand and the time he spent off either substance was incredibly positive and he plans to stay away from both upon his release,” he said.

“That person is in stark contrast to the person who has committed criminal offenses and has therefore demonstrably not complied with court orders. As is sometimes the case, the period of pre-trial detention for this suspect has been very positive.”

Of Richards’ five children from a previous relationship, Harrison added that they were “a motivating factor for him to continue to sort out his life.”

Richards was jailed for 12 months, which, given the time he had spent in custody, meant his release from prison was expected to be immediate.

Passing sentence, Recorder Sarah Counsell acknowledged the progress he had made since the incident.

But referring to the fact he was on a battery license at the time, she added: ‘It was about another complainant but it shows exactly where your behavior had descended to at the end of last year, no doubt influenced by your excessive behavior. use of drugs and alcohol.”

Richards, who appeared in court via video link from Elmley Prison, will be supervised by the probation service for 12 months following his conviction. He was also given a five-year restraining order.