A man who carried out an assault on a woman in a hotel bedroom at Gatwick has been jailed.
Craig Goodwin, 33, of Well Read in Pagham had been released from prison a month before, when he decided to go back and pursue the same woman he was jailed for assaulting.
Despite a restraining order preventing him from contacting the woman, he went with her to a Gatwick hotel on September 25th.
When she spoke to other men at the hotel bar he became jealous and, early on September 26th, he assaulted her, continuing the assault when she tried to escape.
The victim was left highly distressed and hotel staff called 999. Police later found Goodwin hiding in the bushes outside the hotel.
He claimed the victim’s injuries had been sustained when they bumped heads making a TikTok video.
At Lewes Crown Court on October 25, Goodwin pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and breach of a restraining order and was imprisoned for a total of three years and three months.
Following the case, investigating officer PC Kate Bailey from SIU said:
“The victim of this case was highly distressed by the assault upon her.
“Goodwin tried to blame the victim, but thanks to the hard work of officers and support from the victim, he had no choice but to plead guilty when the evidence was presented in court.”
Sussex Police have offered advice to men who find themselves resorting to abusive behaviours:
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is widespread and everyone has a role to play to prevent it from happening.
We need people, specifically men, to:
• Challenge their own behaviours and recognise the impact this has on the victim and others e.g children in the household.
• Challenge others’ behaviours.
• Recognise that VAWG can manifest through other ways, such as misogyny.
• Reflect on their thoughts and attitude if a female loved one/family member was subjected to such behaviour.
Violence against women and girls includes: sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking and harassment, FGM (female genital mutilation), forced marriage and so-called ‘honour-based violence’, trafficking and prostitution, and abuse of women and girls in online spaces.
Violence against women and girls crimes result in devastating harm to individuals and society and can also manifest in misogyny, verbal abuse, inappropriate behaviour which can lead to violence.
Men and boys are also sometimes victims of some of these forms of abuse, and it is important that support is available for them, and that this abuse is challenged.
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