Belper teen broke partner's arm and kicked her to face when she finished with him

A controlling teenager from near Derby broke his partner's arm and kicked her to the face after she ended their relationship. Derby Crown Court heard how in the nine months they were together, Joshua McKiernan monitored the victim’s social media, stopped her meeting friends and stopped her wearing clothes he disapproved of.

In a victim impact statement, the woman told how the 19-year-old’s sudden attack on her has left her struggling to sleep and in pain. And she also told how she relives the assault, especially at night and “does not enjoy the things she used to”.

Sending him to a young offender’s institution for 15 months, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “You were immature and had an inability to deal with this relationship and made her life difficult. You wanted her to do the things you wanted to do and when she wanted to do the normal things she should have been entitled to do, you treated her as your property.

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“The relationship ended and you dealt with it inappropriately and, you accept through your guilty pleas, unlawfully. It does not have to take any more than one or two blows to cause serious injury and she suffered a bad fracture to her arm as a result of your violence and she has painful ongoing symptoms.”

Denney Lau, prosecuting, said McKiernan and the victim were in a relationship between December, 2022, and the day of the attack, August 1, 2023. He said she ended the relationship on that day and he was unable to accept it was over.

The prosecutor said: “He grabbed her hand and started dragging her arm. The defendant then threw her to the floor and started kicking her to the face.

“She put her arms up (to protect herself) as she thought he was getting a rock. An X-ray revealed she suffered a fracture to her forearm. After this attack it was revealed that during their relationship he stopped her seeing friends, monitored her social media and stopped her wearing clothing which did not meet his approval.”

McKiernan, of Millers Way, Milford, Belper, pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning grievous bodily harm on the day of his trial. He has no previous convictions.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said: “I feel unsafe in my own home and get anxious with my heart bumping in my chest.

“I don’t like to say it is like PTSD but I relive it, especially at night, and I now find it difficult to enjoy things in the way I used to.”

As the defendant has already served some time in custody and has been on an electronically-monitored curfew for more than 220 days, the prison term will mean he will not serve any more time behind bars than he already has, the judge said. He also handed him a five-year restraining order not to contact the woman or go to any address he knows she is living, working at or visiting.