An angry mum, her partner and her daughter have all been sentenced for storming into a house in Exeter and beating-up a woman. The trio each played their role in an attack, which included punching, slapping, and hair pulling, a court heard.
Julie Loveridge, 44, led the charge, closely followed by her daughter, Shirley Loveridge, 20, and partner Samuel Harris, 39, who climbed through a window to join-in. He also punched the victim’s autistic son in the face.
There was a domestic background to the bust-up, the court heard. The defendants said it was “spur of the moment”.
The judge at Exeter Crown Court said the violence was reflective of growing aggression seen across society and committed “for no reason”. He said the assaults were serious enough for prison but all three left court with a community order after pleading guilty.
It happened on March 9 when the Loveridge women arrived for a pre-arranged visit to the victim’s house at 1:20pm. Julie Loveridge had not been expected. Mum and daughter then launched an attack, grabbing the woman’s hair, pulling out clumps and hitting her with force.
Meanwhile Harris, who had been told to stay in the car, started banging on the door. He clambered in through the front window and joined the fray. He punched the adult son in the face, knocking him over the sofa, then set about the woman, punching her in the face more than once.
The two women continued their blitz while she was down as Harris shouted sweary threats to the injured man. The female victim suffered injuries to her head, shoulder and lost hair in the attack. She said in a statement she feared seeing her attackers again and what they might do.
Julie Loveridge, of Hillcrest, Tiverton, admitted assault by beating involving grabbing and hitting with an open palm. She was given an 18-month commuinity order with 15 rehabilitation days, 80 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £100 compensation.
Her daughter, of Beacon Lane, Exeter, also admitted assault and hadn’t noticed any of the victim’s hair coming out at the time. She was given the same order with 40 hours of unpaid work.
Harris, also from Tiverton, admitted ABH and common assault. He has a history of violence, including GBH, ABH, criminal damage and possessing a bladed article. He said he was sorry and was given a three-year community order with 20 rehabilitation days, 200 hours of unpaid work, a thinking skills programme and £400 compensation.
Judge Stephen Climie said: “The incident is reflective of society as a whole and the increasing levels of aggression for no reason whatsoever. You see it on the street, at the check-out in supermarkets when people have to wait for two minutes to be served and who knows where we’re going.”