A man who carried out an assault on a woman in a hotel bedroom at Gatwick has been jailed.
Craig Goodwin was in breach of a restraining order preventing him from contacting the woman, but went to the hotel with her on September 25 this year.
It was about a month after his release from prison for assaulting the same victim.
The 33-year-old became jealous when the victim spoke with other men in the bar at the hotel.
In the early hours of September 26 he assaulted her, then when she tried to escape, he continued to assault her.
The victim was left highly distressed and hotel staff called 999. Officers attending later found Goodwin hiding in the bushes outside the hotel.
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He claimed the victim’s injuries had been sustained when they bumped heads making a TikTok video.
But officers from the West Sussex Safeguarding Investigations Unit (SIU) worked hard to bring charges against Goodwin, of Well Road, Pagham.
The CPS charged him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and breach of a restraining order.
At Lewes Crown Court on October 25, Goodwin pleaded guilty to both offences and was imprisoned for a total of three years and three months.
Following the case, investigating officer PC Kate Bailey from SIU said: “The victim of this case was highly distressed by the assault upon her.
“Goodwin tried to blame the victim, but thanks to the hard work of officers and support from the victim, he had no choice but to plead guilty when the evidence was presented in court.”
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is widespread and everyone has a role to play to prevent it from happening.
We need people, specifically men, to:
• Challenge their own behaviours and recognise the impact this has on the victim and others e.g children in the household.
• Challenge others’ behaviours.
• Recognise that VAWG can manifest through other ways, such as misogyny.
• Reflect on their thoughts and attitude if a female loved one/family member was subjected to such behaviour.
Violence against women and girls includes: sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking and harassment, FGM (female genital mutilation), forced marriage and so-called ‘honour-based violence’, trafficking and prostitution, and abuse of women and girls in online spaces.
Violence against women and girls crimes result in devastating harm to individuals and society and can also manifest in misogyny, verbal abuse, inappropriate behaviour which can lead to violence.
Men and boys are also sometimes victims of some of these forms of abuse, and it is important that support is available for them, and that this abuse is challenged.