A Co Antrim man deemed to “pose a serious risk of harm” to female partners was handed a sentence totalling six years today (Tuesday) for domestic offences.
Samuel William David Hefferon - who has been assessed as a ‘dangerous offender’- had an extended custodial sentence imposed comprising of four years custody followed by an extended period of two years on licence.
From Adelaide Avenue in Whitehead, the 27-year old admitted a charge of assaulting his then-partner on October 25, 2023 and to a second charge of non-fatal strangulation two days later. Belfast Crown Court heard the October 2023 occurred when the injured party was trying to end the relationship and he was subject to a suspended sentence for previous assaults upon her.
As she jailed Hefferon, Judge Patricia Smyth said: “This case demonstrated how hard it is for victims of domestic abuse to leave their perpetrator.”
The court heard that the couple were together for around a year-and-a-half and around three or four months into the relationship, Hefferon turned violent. The injured party put Hefferon’s anger down to his prescription medication addiction and said that he used to blame her for everything, assault her then apologise and claim he couldn’t remember.
After promising he would change, Hefferon then used controlling behaviour and told his partner no-one else would want her. On October 25, 2023 she was lying asleep when he dragged her out of bed by her hair, got her on the floor then kicked her in the ribs and other areas of her body.
She didn’t report this at the time - but this incident became the catalyst for her to remove herself from the relationship. Two days later she was packing her bags to leave in the spare room of Hefferon’s apartment while he was at the shops. He returned, became angry when he realised what she was doing and locked the front door.
Hefferon walked back into the spare room, pinned her against the wall and repeatedly hit her head off the wall which caused a false front tooth to become dislodged. Both she and Hefferon went down to the floor to look for the tooth and at this point she ran to the bathroom and locket herself in.
Hefferon then opened and closed the front door to make her believe he had left the apartment but when she opened the bathroom door, he was standing in front of her.
He put both his hands around her neck and started to strangle his partner to the point where she was gagging and struggled to breathe. After he released his grip and walked back to the spare room, the injured party lifted her handbag and ran out the front door screaming.
Hefferon chased after her, grabbed her handbag and tried to drag her back into his apartment. This was witnessed by a female neighbour who intervened, came to the woman’s assistance and contacted the PSNI.
When officers arrived, they observed the injured party had sustained several injuries including a raised lump on her forehead, bruising to her arms and a missing front tooth.
Judge Smyth told the court: “It’s hard to believe that kind of terror that any young woman must feel.”
Following his arrest Hefferon gave a false account of what happened, denied he had perpetrated any domestic abuse or assaults and refused to comment on what caused his partner’s injuries. He maintained this innocent stance until last September when, a day before his trial was due to commence, he finally admitted the two offences.
Judge Smyth told him: “You pleaded guilty at a very late stage in the proceedings and the impact of the prolonged wait for you to admit your criminality adversely affected the victim.”
The Belfast Recorder revealed Hefferon has a previous criminal record for assaulting the same woman. This, she said, included two violent incidents in August and September 2022 which he was subsequently given a suspended sentence for.
Judge Smyth noted the October 2023 offences were committed whilst Hefferon was subject to the suspended sentence. Citing his “relevant criminal record” against the same woman as an aggravating factor, the Judge spoke of Hefferon’s “capacity for violence”.
Judge Smyth said that after reading a statement, it was clear Hefferon’s behaviour has had a “profound effect” on her “both physically and psychologically”.
Revealing the injured party has been supported by Woman’s Aid, the Judge told Hefferon: “It is a tragedy that this young woman, for whatever reason, remained in a relationship with you, despite the abuse that you inflicted on her.”
Judge Smyth said she had read and considered defence submissions made on behalf of Hefferon. These set out the ‘psychological trauma’ of being the victim of a serious assault aged 18 and his issues with drugs. Also noted was Probation’s assessment that Hefferon was a dangerous offender.
Agreeing with this, Judge Smyth deemed him to “pose a significant risk of serious harm to female intimate partners” and imposed the extended custodial sentence.
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