Roy Croft, 47, who subjected his girlfriend to a sick campaign of abusive and controlling behaviour before assaulting her in front of her children, is seen grinning in the mugshot
A man who terrorised his girlfriend and assaulted her in front of her two young children is seen grinning in a sickening mugshot.
Domestic abuser Roy Croft, 47, has been jailed after he subjected his now-ex partner to a campaign of abusive and controlling behaviour over the course of their year-long relationship. This developed into violence while the couple were on holiday in Tenerife in May last year, when Croft grabbed her by the neck and held her down on the bed. At Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, prosecutor Kenneth Grant said she was “hyperventilating” and he had to flee the hotel room, ending up hiding from Croft in the foyer of the hotel, reports the Echo.
After the couple separated, Croft, a father-of-two from Rock Ferry in the Wirral, Merseyside, showed up at the woman’s house with flowers and sweets for her children on August 1 – and started shouting at her. Mr Grant said: “While there, the defendant started to become verbally abusive, accusing the complainant of cheating on him. He refused to leave, stating that he was not going anywhere. The complainant became fearful as she had experienced domestic violence from the defendant previously, so she went upstairs with her two daughters into the bedroom.”
She then attempted to barricade herself and her children inside, but Croft forced his way in, grabbed her hair, and dragged her out of the bedroom. He also grabbed her arms, leaving her with bruises. The woman shouted at her children to call the police, but the youngsters were “so frightened” they were not able to find her mobile phone, Mr Grant said.
When she told them to use the house phone instead, Croft fled in his car. He then returned the following day while his ex-partner was at her mother’s house, and entered the house, smashing up furniture and electronics and scrawling offensive words on her garden wall. The estimated total cost of the damage was around £20,000, the court heard.
The woman then went to Birkenhead family court for help, and Croft was handed a non-molestation order banning him from contacting her. But on September 5 he approached her in the Everlast Gym in Croft Retail Park, Bromborough, and told her he was sorry. Mr Grant added: “The complainant reported the incident to the gym staff. She discovered the defendant had visited the gym that day on three previous occasions and at no point did he have the appropriate equipment and he had not used the gym facilities to train personally.”
Croft pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour, assault by beating, criminal damage, and breach of a non-molestation order. He has six previous convictions for 22 offences including assault, harassment and threats to kill.
Christopher McMaster, defending, said the £20,000 worth of damage to his ex-partner’s house had been done while Croft was experiencing a deterioration in his mental health. He said: “The most serious and most concerning behaviour happened on August 2 2024, and it was a snowball that built up to this extremely unpleasant incident which was, in essence, when the defendant had a breakdown.”
But Judge Gary Woodhall said while there was “obviously some underlying problem”, the fact that the abuse spanned a “long period of time” meant this consideration had to be “tempered by the longevity of his behaviour”. The judge said: “It’s clear that this was a case in which there was prolonged effect upon your victim, both her and her children.” He said Croft posed “a high risk of domestic violence and a high risk of serious harm, particularly to partners”.
He sentenced Croft to 28 months in prison for the controlling and coercive behaviour, assault by beating, criminal damage, with a further two months for breach of a non-molestation order, totalling 30 months behind bars. He also passed a restraining order, which bans him from contacting his ex-girlfriend.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.
