Thug jailed after hitting ex-schoolmate with beer bottle

Luke Hodgson (24) was under investigation for the first attack when he turned up unexpectedly at a family home and went on to beat up his former school friend.

He also sent his then-partner, who said she was now frightened to go out, a “vile” social media message saying he would “snap her nose”.

Recorder Patrick Palmer ignored pleas to spare Hodgson — who had breached a suspended sentence order — an immediate prison term, and locked him up for two years.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Hodgson, then of High Nook Road, Dinnington, and his girlfriend had been in a “toxic” relationship for ten months before he attacked her inside and outside her mother’s home last November.

The woman told police there had been previous occasions where Hodgson had grabbed her round the throat.

Mr Brian Outhwaite, prosecuting, said Hodgson had walked into the house and begun shouting, calling his partner a “slag”.

When she had told him to leave and tried to walk out of the room, he had grabbed her round the neck and pinned her to the wall.

The frightened woman fled the house but Hodgson followed and throttled her again, this time pinning her against her car and holding her neck for several seconds, Mr Outhwaite said.

The court heard Hodgson later sent the woman “vile” messages via Facebook, telling her: “I will snap your f***ing nose in front of everyone in that street” and calling her a “divvy bitch”.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she was scared of Hodgson, frightened and anxious about going out and felt like “I’m constantly looking over my shoulder”.

When questioned, Hodgson said: “I love her to bits” and denied the offences, adding: “She makes out it’s all me but it’s her, too.”

Mr Outhwaite said Hodgson had been on bail for these offences when he went to a house in Rotherham where a family were gathered in the garden and spoke to a former school friend, accusing him of messaging his partner.

When this was denied, Hodgson appeared to calm down but later confronted the man again in the garden, grabbing him by the neck of his jumper and striking him in the temple three or four times with a beer bottle, “causing it to smash”.

Mr Outhwaite added: “He dropped the bottle and punched (the victim) six to eight times in the head before he managed to break free.”

With help from his family, the victim managed to escape, but Hodgson later sent him threatening social media messages calling him a “snakey b******” and a “little p****”, and warning him: “You will pay for this.”

When questioned by police, Hodgson admitted assaulting the man, adding that he had been drunk, “which was lucky for (the victim) as it would have been worse if he had been sober”.

Mr Ian West, mitigating, said the incident had been “fuelled by a cocktail and cocaine and alcohol” and that Hodgson had behaved in an “appalling and unacceptable” way.

He said Hodgson, who admitted two counts of assault and two relating to sending threatening messages, was immature and had suffered a difficult upbringing, having been kicked out of the family home at just 14.

Mr West said Hodgson had shown growing maturity, had given up drinking in prison, having described the day of the second attack as “a blur”, and now had hopes to “make a constructive life”.

Recorder Palmer described the offences as “very unpleasant” and sentenced Hodgson to 12 months for the attack on his then-girlfriend plus a year for breaching his suspended sentence order, which related to a wounding offence.

He also imposed shorter concurrent sentences for the social media threats and the second assault, as well as a two-year restraining order.