Hunstanton man Charles Butler sentenced for assaulting woman twice

A Hunstanton man assaulted a woman by spitting at her and “slamming” her into a kitchen worktop.

Magistrates decided to impose a restraining order on Charles Butler, 27, of Waveney Road in Hunstanton, when he appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

At a previous hearing held in October, Butler pleaded guilty to two accounts of assault by beating, both of which took place earlier this year.

Prosecutor Lesla Small told the court that the first offence took place between the dates of March 1 to April 15.

She said that between those dates, Butler was in a relationship with the woman, and there were frequent arguments between them.

On one occasion, Butler spat at the woman, with the spittle landing in her face.

Ms Small said that Butler was “verbally aggressive” towards her, with him calling her a “useless f***ing c**t” and a “fat and useless piece of crap”.

On May 17, another argument broke out between them, where Butler pushed the woman onto a wardrobe and “got in her face”.

He then called her a “sl*g” and said that she “didn’t respect him”.

The woman then went out for a cigarette, and Butler took this opportunity to lock her out of the house for around five minutes.

When she came back in the house, Butler “slammed” her body up against a kitchen worktop, causing the victim to scream in pain.

This caused injury to the victim’s ribs and required medical treatment.

Ms Small added that the victim has applied for a restraining order – something that Butler’s solicitor, Ruth Johnson, agreed with.

She urged that magistrates go along with sentencing recommendations previously provided by the probation service.

Magistrates chose to do so and handed Butler a 24-month community order.

The order entails completing 15 rehabilitation activity days as well as doing 80 hours of unpaid work.

He will also pay £114 victim surcharge and £105 in court costs.

A 24-month restraining order was also imposed.