Gloucester man jailed for attacking partner and injuring 2 month old baby
Jason Haynes, 39, had attacked his partner and their two-month-old baby sustained serious injuries
A man has been jailed after attacking his partner and injuring their two-month-old baby in the process.
Jason Haynes, aged 39, and of Orchard Way, Gloucester, had pleaded not guilty to coercive and controlling behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his partner and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm without intent on their two-month old child.
However, a jury found him guilty of all three counts on 31 July and Haynes appeared at Gloucester Crown Court for sentencing on Friday 8 August.
The court heard that Haynes had subjected his partner to two years of abusive behaviour, accusing her of seeing other men and keeping close tabs on her whenever she went out, even demanding photographic proof of where she had been.
He would shout, threaten, and humiliate her, sometimes resulting in physical violence including punching her, pulling her hair and physically stopping her from leaving.
On 2 January this year (2025), his partner and their child flagged down a police officer on the street after fleeing from an address.
The officer noticed that the woman appeared to be in shock and was bleeding from her eye, while the baby had a lump on the back of its head.
They were taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where the baby required a CT scan and was found to have sustained a fractured skull.
The woman disclosed to police at the time that the injuries to both of them had been caused by Haynes.
Earlier in the evening Haynes had accused the woman of having a secret phone and, during the following argument, he repeatedly punched her to the head and forced his hand into her mouth, causing injuries. In doing so, he also struck the baby who was being held by his partner at the time.
Haynes was arrested and later charged with coercive and controlling behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm on his partner and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm without intent on their two-month old child.
Sentencing Haynes, Judge Rupert Lowe said: "You humiliated her by telling her she was worthless and that no-one else would want her. You isolated her from family and even female friends. You constantly checked up on her whereabouts, forcing her to send you photographs to back up her responses and on occasion turning up in person to check.
"You would lose your temper easily and frequently, mostly for imagined wrongs, shouting and threatening, and on several occasions using actual physical violence against her - by slapping her, punching her, pulling her hair, spitting in her face, pushing her into a bush, and physically preventing her from leaving you when she inevitably wanted to escape. Then you would love-bomb her (to use her expression) afterwards, promising a faithful and monogamous future as a family, which was everything she wanted to hear.
"On 2 January this year, you lost your temper with your child's mother when your child was just two-months-old and being comforted in her mother's arms. You punched your partner repeatedly to the face and forced your hand into her mouth causing injuries to her face, head, mouth and neck.
"You are a powerfully built man of 6ft 4in, but in the grip of your own paranoia you had no concern for the mother of your child, still then supposedly your partner, or for the child herself.
"In your frenzy to physically assault the mother, you recklessly struck your own child on the head, fracturing their fragile skull, causing bleeding under the skin, an immediate large swelling to their head, and suspected bleeding on the brain. The child was admitted to intensive care, treated with medication to aid clotting and to reduce seizures, and kept under neurological observation. Her mother thought the child was going to die.
"In order to feel better about yourself you have convinced your family that you are innocent. To a degree you may have convinced even yourself of that lie.
"What I observed in you was a man only concerned for yourself, who would invent and adopt any version of events which happened to cross your mind, if it served your immediate purpose. In this total disregard of objective truth in favour of what you would prefer at any given moment to be true, in your apparent addiction to lying to yourself and to others, you remain terribly psychologically immature. Given that you are nearly 40 years old, if you do not grow up very soon I fear you never will.
"No intimate partner should trust what you say; but that is of course a matter for them and for you. But I also fear that you present a clear danger of violence to future partners. If you ever appear before a criminal court again for violence or controlling behaviour towards a woman, you can expect a very long sentence indeed."
Haynes was sentenced to a total of four years in prison and must serve at least half before being released on licence.
Professional support is available for anyone who has an abusive partner, former partner or relative – you can contact Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service on 01452 726 570 or email: [email protected].
More information is available on their website: https://www.gdass.org.uk/