Boyfriend is jailed for attack on mum-to-be

A drunken boyfriend who stopped his girlfriend from calling an ambulance after he beat her up has been jailed.

The injured woman, who was four weeks pregnant, was bleeding heavily from her nose and feared it was broken.

Leicester Crown Court was told she waited until Justin Conroy (37) fell asleep, before calling for help at 3am.

The police woke him up to arrest him at her home in Rowlatts Hill, Leicester.

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He was angry and aggressive towards the officers, said James Robottom, prosecuting.

The victim suffered a black eye and what the judge said was "a nasty cut" on her nose, which was not broken.

Conroy in interview described himself as being "hammered" by drinking too much.

When shown a picture of her facial injuries by the police, he suggested she must have fallen over.

Conroy, of no fixed address, was originally charged with causing actual bodily harm, which he denied.

The couple have since reconciled and the victim was said to be reluctant to give evidence against him in court.

The prosecution accepted his guilty plea to a lesser alternative offence of common assault, on the night of May 11 this year.

Conroy, who claimed his drinks were earlier spiked in a pub, was given a five-month jail sentence.

It will run concurrently with a two years and eight months sentence he is already serving, for an unrelated offence of wounding.

Mr Robottom told the court that Conroy had previously committed common assault upon the same girlfriend, in 2005.

On that occasion he grabbed her clothing around her neck and punched her in the face, also pushing her female friend to the floor.

Mr Robottom said: "In November, 2008, he committed an offence of actual bodily harm in the street, while drunk.

"He had an argument with his mother and threw her to the floor, knocking her unconscious."

In mitigation, the court heard that Conroy accepted drinking heavily that night and having an argument with his girlfriend on the way home from the pub.

He was under stress and believed his drinks were spiked but now regretted losing his temper.

He had no idea she was four weeks pregnant at the time and now wants to address his issue with alcohol, the court was told.

Conroy was also concerned his partner was going through a "high-risk pregnancy" while he is in custody.

Sentencing, Judge Lynn Tayton QC said: "The offence is aggravated by the fact you didn't let your girlfriend call for an ambulance."