Lowestoft man jailed after 'horrific' domestic abuse against partner
Gary Bowgen assaulted his victim and left her unable to leave her home for fear of being attacked
A man has been jailed for more than seven years after a campaign of 'horrific' domestic abuse carried out against his girlfriend.
34 year old Gary Bowgen, of Clifton Road, was handed seven years and six months in prison at Norwich Crown Court yesterday (April 5) after admitting to causing fear of violence by harassment, assault and damaging property over a period between January and August last year.
He's also been made the subject of an indefinite restraining order and will spend three years on extended licence.
He was in a relationship with his victim for two years and acted kind and loving until he moved into his girlfriend's Norwich home.
He then became physically and verbally abusive. During one of the first incidents he shouted at her with a knife in his hands. He had slapped her and ripped her earrings out a few days prior.
He also strangled his victim as she attempted to escape their shared home.
When the victim broke up with Borwgen she was received multiple unwanted calls and messages from him. He turned up outside her home in May 2021, demanding money in front of her young children.
The next month he broke into her home and was subsequently arrested.
The victim felt she was forced to install CCTV and send her children away to live elsewhere. In July 2021 her newborn baby was made the subject of a Police Protection Order due to Bowgen's behaviour.
As a result she couldn't leave her home without being escorted by a family member for her own protection.
PC Sarah Royall, of Norfolk Police, said: ”The horrific series of domestic abuse incidents Bowgen has subjected his victim to has had a profound impact on both her and her family’s everyday life.
"This caused her to have to move with her children, not be able to go out of her own home and resulted in her young baby being taken away for fear of his violence.
"This sentence should be a message to those who carry out such abhorrent acts that they will not be tolerated.”