Boyfriend dripped Superglue into girlfriend's eye while she slept

A man has been jailed after he dripped Superglue into his girlfriend's eye while she was asleep. Thomas Patton, 29, subjected his partner to a campaign of violence and intimidation during their relationship last year, which left her too terrified to leave him.

The victim, who now lives in constant fear and rarely leaves her home, feared that Patton would kill her after he chillingly told her he "would rather see her dead than with someone else."

Teesside Crown Court heard on Monday how Patton repeatedly assaulted his girlfriend. When she finally reported him to the police, following a hospital visit for treatment to her glued-shut eye, he tried to intimidate her into retracting her statement, reports Teesside Live.

The court also heard that the victim reported further incidents to the police after Patton's attempts at intimidation. She claimed her mother's car had been vandalised and that her mum had been followed by an individual brandishing a knife and hurling abusive language at her.

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In a statement read out in court, Patton's ex-girlfriend revealed she plans to "leave the area if he is released from prison" and only feels safe when he is behind bars. The survivor of domestic abuse said: "My family stopped talking to me at one stage. I lost friends because Thomas's behaviour was so crazy. When I was with him, I did not think that ending the relationship was an option. I thought that the only way out was to kill myself."

Patton, of Cotswold Avenue, in Pallister Park, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to intimidating a witness and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was convicted by a jury, after a trial, of engaging in coercive behaviour, two counts of assault and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm - which took place between July and October 2023.

Eleanor Durdy, mitigating, stated that Patton, who confessed to using class A and B drugs, insisted he did not intend to squirt the superglue into his girlfriend's eye, claiming it was "an accident" - a statement dismissed by the judge.

Judge Stephen Ashurst addressed Patton directly, saying: "This relatively short relationship descended into violence and an atmosphere of intimidation. You applied Superglue to her eye - I reject that this was an accident, as you say. You pressured her to withdraw her statement to the police. The victim is entitled to move on with her life without threats of violence."

As Patton was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, he shook his head in disagreement. Additionally, a restraining order was issued against him, barring any contact with his victim and her mother for the next five years.