Matthew McCartney

A controlling abuser who throttled his partner, punched her repeatedly and continued tormenting her after she ended their relationship has been jailed for two years and three months.

Matthew McCartney, 48, subjected the Selby woman to a prolonged campaign of violence, humiliation and threatening messages that left her physically and mentally exhausted.

York Crown Court heard he threw an unopened beer can at her head, struck her hard enough to dislodge a tooth and attacked her in a hotel room during a trip to Manchester.

Even after she broke away, the harassment continued.

According to the Selby Times, McCartney admitted controlling behaviour between March 2020 and January 2023. He entered his guilty plea on the day his trial was due to begin.

The couple had met through Facebook around 2018. Prosecutor Austin Newman said McCartney later became increasingly possessive, tried to prevent the woman having contact with other men and subjected her to degrading insults.

His jealousy extended to her amicable relationship with a former partner and her contact with other family members.

During one attack in summer 2021, McCartney hurled a sealed beer can at her, leaving a deep, bleeding cut to her head.

On another occasion, he hit her in the face with his palm, knocking her to the floor and leaving her with a cut lip and a dislodged tooth.

The court also heard that, during the Manchester trip, he put his hands around her neck before pushing her into furniture and a wall. He then forced her onto a bed and punched her repeatedly.

After the relationship ended, McCartney bombarded her with unwanted messages and emails, some threatening, using different telephone numbers and email accounts.

The prosecution said he also arranged for travel brochures to arrive at her home addressed using offensive descriptions instead of her name. These continued arriving after she complained to police.

Describing the damage he caused, the woman said: “My self-worth, my confidence, my trust in others were all taken away from me.”

She told the court she had been trying to survive while concealing the abuse.

Judge Simon Hickey said the seriousness of the offending demanded immediate imprisonment and questioned whether McCartney’s remorse centred mainly on himself.

McCartney, of Tadcaster, was sentenced on 7 October. Three separate charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm were left on file, with the prosecution treating the violence as part of the controlling behaviour.

A 15-year restraining order bans him from contacting the woman, entering the street where she lives or posting about her on social media.

Source: UK Database on Facebook