Dad who repeatedly punched woman jailed and released on same day

A dad "lost his temper" during a drunken row with his girlfriend and elbowed her sister in the face. Benjamin Cross, 41, lashed out at Michelle Grugel as she tried to break up an argument between him and her sister. He then punched her several times, leaving her with two black eyes and a broken nose dripping with blood.

He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, September 18, after pleading guilty to assault causing grievous bodily harm. Oliver Saddington, prosecuting, told the court how the crime occurred on May 18 this year, when Michelle Grugel visited her sister Laura at Cross' home. She was woken up around 8am by her daughter, who told her Cross and her sister were fighting, and went to investigate.

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Mr Saddington said: "Michelle got out of bed and went to the living room and on entering she saw the defendant holding his baby daughter and he was arguing with Laura." Cross then handed the baby to Laura before he turned and elbowed Michelle Grugel on the nose.

Mr Saddington said: "Michelle began to push the defendant away. He began to punch her repeatedly in the face and she sustained a number of injuries. Michelle described hearing a "pop" in her nose, and how blood then began to flow. The defendant ran out of the property. Michelle Grugel phoned her partner, who accompanied her to hospital." The mum suffered a fractured nose, two black eyes, a gash to her nose, and bruising and swelling to her face.

Bernice Campbell, defending Cross, who has 22 convictions for 34 offences, said: "The incident speaks for itself. All parties were sadly under the influence, and sadly there were injuries.

"Surprisingly, Laura Grugel has been desperate for her partner to come home and for him to re-engage. He wants to get back to the life that he loved, being with his child and his partner. He's 41. He's under no illusion that this is getting ridiculous. He needs to settle down eventually."

Addressing Cross, Mr Recorder Cox said: "I agree the factors speak for themselves. You accept there are difficulties you have with alcohol and frankly you have got to sort it out. It's not up to anybody else. It's up to you. You are now 41. You're not a young man any more. It's up to you to sort things out. You are a father. It's up to you to behave in an appropriate way."

He sentenced Cross, of Cecil Road, Liscard, to 29 weeks in prison. However, it was heard the dad had already served the equivalent of 34 weeks in custody as he waited for his case to come to court, and so he would be promptly released. He was also given a three-year restraining order banning him from contacting Michelle Grugel.