'My scars will always remind me of abuse' - Nottingham man jailed after slashing girlfriend with key

A survivor of domestic violence bravely faced her abuser at a Nottingham court as she shared how his brutal attacks had "changed her life for the worse". In a series of assaults over an eight-month period, Bradley Scoffield broke his then-girlfriend's nose, slashed her legs with keys and threatened to kill her.

The 20-year-old, of Ruthwell Gardens, Bestwood, was given a two-and-a-half year prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, June 20. The court heard from Scoffield's victim, who said she still suffered from flashbacks and panic attacks.

Standing bravely but visibly shaking as Scoffield looked on, she said: “Every time I look at my body I’m reminded of the things he did to me. He made me feel like no-one else wanted me or loved me.

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"He would take it upon himself to threaten to hurt my family. The day he assaulted me and broke my nose is the most scared I’ve ever been. I thought he was going to kill me.

“Never can I forget what he did. I still feel like a puppet and he controls my brain. I’ve never been able to believe I can be loved again.

“He changed my life for the worse. How can someone who claims to love and care for me threaten to kill me so many times?"

Scoffield and the victim “quickly started” a relationship after meeting online in March 2022. However, it soon became abusive and violent, Anthony Cheung, prosecuting, said.

On December 2, 2022, the victim went to meet the defendant at a hotel and confronted him about cheating on her. “Immediately he reacted with violence, asking ‘why the **** have you been looking at my phone?’," said Mr Cheung.

He leapt onto her and straddled her as he punched her multiple times in the face, head and body. She tried to scream for help but he covered her mouth, causing her to start blacking out as she struggled to breathe.

Scoffield then retrieved a toilet brush from the bathroom and started striking her in the legs, before unleashing a punch “with great force” that broke the victim’s nose. “She started to cry and her body was numb, she was choking on blood," said Mr Cheung.

He then threatened to kill her if she did not stay quiet and told her to tell paramedics she had fallen over. The assault left the victim with lumps to her head, bruising and swelling to her face and a broken nose.

During a second assault at their home on May 3 last year, Scoffield "grabbed the victim's jumper by the neck and held it tight so she struggled to breathe". On the night of July 31, Scoffield became jealous when his then-girlfriend received texts from someone she had gone to school with.

“He kicked off and slashed her with a key," said Mr Cheung, who added the victim was cut on the rear of her left thigh, left shin and her right bicep, leaving her with scars.

“He went to the kitchen and she thought he was getting a knife so she ran out of the house bare-footed." The victim eventually came forward about the abuse on February 9 and Scoffield was arrested on March 12.

Matthew Smith, mitigating, said Scoffield was "very sorry" for the way he behaved. He said the defendant had long-standing diagnoses of ADHD and autism.

“In confrontation in the relationship he couldn’t deal with it very well, but he accepts entirely it is no excuse for his behaviour," he said. “When he left child and adolescent services he was not signposted into adult services.

"He’d fallen into a gap where there’s very little support." Sentencing, Judge Mark Watson said: “It was a relationship that had turned toxic on account of the abuse that you gave her."

He said Scoffield's actions left the victim suffering from flashbacks and panic attacks “to the point she doesn’t feel safe in her own brain”. As well as a 30-month prison sentence, Scoffield was handed an indefinite restraining order.