Croydon man, 28, drove Volvo at pregnant ex-girlfriend after chasing her home from hospital

A pregnant woman thought she and her baby were about to die as her thug ex-boyfriend drove his car at her outside her home. Luciano Brown was spurned after a series of degrading assaults on his ex, but surprised her at a hospital appointment, assaulted her, then followed her home in his four-by-four, Inner London Crown Court heard during a trial this week.

On Wednesday (September 18), Brown, of Edridge Road in Croydon, sighed as the jury found him guilty of dangerous driving and four counts of assault by beating. The jury heard how the 28-year-old mechanic had been dumped by his ex, but remembered the timings of a pregnancy check-up from when they were together and appeared at the hospital on March 19 this year.

Not expecting to see him, the victim said she was assaulted by Brown, who bent her fingers back. He then got in his green Volvo XC90 and followed her and her sisters back to her home, causing 'some consternation' due to his driving. With the heavily-pregnant victim stood on her driveway, Brown then accelerated towards her, forcing her to jump out the way.

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Recorder Philip Brook-Smith KC said the driving was intended to 'intimidate and frighten' his ex-partner, and caused her to be 'scared for her life and the unborn baby'. "You deliberately drove in a cul-de-sac in a way which was calculated to cause her significant fear for her personal safety," said the judge, adding: "I consider this offence so serious only a term of imprisonment is appropriate."

Jurors also heard how Brown terrorised his former-partner with a series of beatings dating back to January this year. This week he was convicted of twisting her arm, squeezing her nipple until it bled, and slapping her face. The prosecution singled out the nipple incident as particularly significant due to the 'pain and harm' felt by the victim, who was in the early stages of her pregnancy at the time.

Brown - who has 16 previous convictions for robbery, theft, and driving without due care and attention - wore a white formal shirt and navy pullover as he stood in the dock at Inner London on Wednesday. His mother sat in the public gallery as Recorder Brook-Smith handed down a 52 week sentence.

Brown was jailed for 36 weeks for dangerous driving and 16 weeks concurrent for the assault in the hospital. He received a separate set of sentences of 16 weeks for the earlier assaults, which will run consecutive to the main sentence but concurrent to each other.

Recorder Brook-Smith said the Government's early release scheme, which means some offenders serve 40 per cent of their sentence in custody, meant his release is 'imminent'. The judge also warned him Brown will remain on supervision for another year, and imposed a restraining order to bans him from contacting his ex or attending her road.

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