Man who turned up uninvited at wedding of his ex-partner's mum is jailed for early hours assault

A 42-year-old Brighouse man who forced his way into his ex-partner's Halifax home in the early hours and assaulted her has been jailed for 10 months.

Gary Shepheard sent abusive texts to Amanda Fossey after she ended their relationship in April and later on that day he turned up uninvited at her mother’s wedding.

Prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari told Bradford Crown Court that at the wedding Shepheard spilled a drink over the complainant’s dress and he was asked to leave by other guests.

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After she returned home and went to bed, Shepheard forced a roller shutter on the garage and used a side door to get into her home in the early hours while she was asleep.

Miss Alistari described how Shepheard went into the bedroom and grabbed the complainant by the hair, pulling her onto the floor.

He started throwing clothing out of the bedroom window and also damaged a television and a wardrobe in the bedroom.

The court heard that Shepheard then grabbed the wooden ball which was loosely attached to the banister and threw it, hitting his former partner in the face.

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Miss Alistari said the object hit the complainant on the left side of her face, causing a small cut which had now left a scar.

Shepheard, of Bottomley Street, Brighouse, admitted charges of assault and criminal damage.

Solicitor advicate Ashok Khullar, for Shepheard, conceded it was an unpleasant and nasty offence, but he asked the Recorder of Bradford Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC to consider suspending the prison sentence.

But the judge said the happy occasion of the wedding was marred by Shepheard’s unwanted attendance and he had subsequently “forced entry” into the complainant’s locked home. He said an offence of domestic violence against a completely innocent woman involving aggravating features such as forced entry to the property and the use of a weapon could not be overlooked.

Shepheard was made subject to an indefinite restraining order which bans him from contacting the complainant or going near her home in future.

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