A Brighton man has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for subjecting a woman to years of domestic abuse and controlling behavior. Shaun Kent, 31, from Sandhurst Road in Brighton, routinely abused his victim, Darcy, over a four-year period, taking control of many aspects of her life and subjecting her to psychological and physical attacks.
Kent, a bricklayer, deleted Darcy’s social media accounts and turned up unannounced at social occasions, behaving violently and threateningly. Sometimes, he would show up at locations Darcy had not revealed to him, suggesting that he was monitoring her movements. When physically out of his reach, he would bombard her with texts and phone calls. The controlling behavior was part of a concerted effort to stop his victim from speaking to other men under any circumstances, including members of her own family.
In a victim impact statement which she personally read out in court, Darcy said Kent ‘completely destroyed my self-worth’ and severed all contact with her friends, tore her family apart, and left her unemployed and isolated. Psychological, belittling abuse went alongside violent attacks, including targeting surgery scars as they healed, which left significant, long-lasting injuries.
Kent was arrested in February 2019 but soon after broke his bail conditions by impersonating a man who was a friend of Darcy’s, to contact her and try to convince her to drop the allegations. He arranged a meeting, and when Darcy arrived, she saw it was Kent in his car. He was subsequently charged with engaging in coercive and controlling behavior, causing actual bodily harm, intimidating a witness, sexual assault, and assault by beating.
At Lewes Crown Court on Friday, 17 March, Kent pleaded guilty to all charges except sexual assault, which the court ordered to remain on file. He was given a restraining order.
Investigations Supervisor Sharon Rintoul said, “The account shared by Darcy of her abuse at the hands of Shaun Kent demonstrates the devastating impact domestic abuse has on the lives of victims and their families. The bravery she has shown in supporting this investigation through to prosecution, addressing her abuser directly in court, and seeing him put behind bars cannot be overstated.”
