Plea in Mitigation:
Andrew Young
PLEA IN MITIGATION: ANDREW YOUNG
Instructions
You act for Andrew Young. On 28 September 2010 he pleaded guilty to two counts
of assault occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to section 47 of the Offences
Against the Person Act 1861. The case was adjourned until today, to enable a PreSentence Report to be prepared. This has been obtained and is attached. A copy of
his list of previous convictions is also attached.
Prosecution Facts
The prosecution facts are that on the afternoon of Friday 30 July 2010 Andrew
Young came home early from work to find his wife, Cheryl, on the telephone to
another man. It was apparent from what he heard of their conversation that she was
having an affair with the man with whom she was speaking. In a rage Andrew Young
grabbed the telephone from Cheryl and pushed her with considerable force against
the wall of the kitchen. Cheryl fell hard against the wall, suffering serious bruising as
well as grazing to her face.
Andrew Young then left the house, but returned the following day in order to collect
his belongings. Cheryl was there with one of her friends, and there followed an
increasingly furious argument which ended with Andrew Young losing his temper
and assaulting Cheryl in a jealous rage. It appears that he hit her and grabbed her
around the neck, causing her to suffer a black eye, serious bruising and reddening to
her neck. While the argument was going on Cheryl’s friend called the police, who
arrested Andrew Young for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. In police
interview, he admitted his guilt to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Instructions
When you arrive at court on the morning of 19 October 2010, you take instructions
from Andrew Young about the plea in mitigation. He gives you the information set out
in the attached attendance note.
NATIONAL PROBATION SERVICE
for England and Wales
nps
Thames Valley Area
CONFIDENTIAL
PRE-SENTENCE REPORT
to the
OXFORD CROWN COURT on 19 October 2010
concerning
Defendant's full name:
YOUNG, Andrew
Address:
Age:
28
Date of Birth:
11.02.1982
21 Little Clarendon Street Supervising Court: Oxford
OXFORD OX2
Offence(s):
Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
Offence Date(s):
30 and 31 July 2010
Sources of Information
This report is based on two interviews with Mr Young
Probation Officer: Stephen Ramsey
Office:
Speedwell House, 199 Speedwell Street OX1 2AS
Telephone:
01865 267923
This is a pre-sentence report as defined in Section 158 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and has been prepared in accordance with the
requirements of the National Standard for Pre-Sentence Reports
Introduction
Andrew Young has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily
harm. He has co-operated fully during the preparation of this report.
Offence analysis
The two offences involved assaults upon Mr Young’s wife, Cheryl, at their home in
Oxford. Mr Young had come home early from work to find his wife, Cheryl, on the
telephone to another man, with whom it was apparent she was having an affair. Mr
Young grabbed the telephone from his wife and pushed her against the kitchen wall,
as a result of which she suffered serious bruising and grazing to her face. Having left
the house, Mr Young returned the following day in order to collect his belongings.
Cheryl was there with a friend, and the ensuing argument ended with Mr Young
using violence on his wife, causing her to suffer a black eye, serious bruising and
reddening to her neck. Mr Young says that both assaults arose out of the heat of the
moment.
Relevant background information
Mr Young is 28 years old. He has worked as an engineer at the Williams F1 factory
near Oxford on a series of short term contracts for the last five years, and was
recently given a permanent contract. He has moved out of the family home, and is
living in Botley with his brother, Douglas, who also works at the Williams factory.
Response to Previous and Current Disposals
Andrew Young has one previous conviction for common assault as well as a
previous conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, for which he received
a community order with an unpaid work requirement. He also has a previous
conviction for breach of that community order, for which he was ordered to do an
additional 10 hours’ unpaid work. There are no issues of dangerousness in his case
which might give rise to the possibility of a longer sentence for public protection
under the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Conclusion, Assessment and Proposal
I am of the view that the most suitable disposal of this case would be a community
order with unpaid work, supervision and Community Domestic Violence Programme
(CDVP) requirements. The supervision and programme requirements would focus
on addressing the underlying motivation for his offending and exploring issues of
personal responsibility in order to equip Mr Young with the skills to ensure that he
does not come before the court again. Mr Young has expressed his willingness to
comply with these requirements.
Stephen Ramsey
Probation Officer
October 2010
Form MG 16
Previous Convictions
Convictions recorded against: ANDREW YOUNG
CRO No: 75816/87A
Charged in the name of:
* Denotes spent conviction
Offence(s)
Date
Court
11.04.2008
Oxford
Magistrates
1.
Common Assault
1. Conditional
Discharge
15.05.2009
Oxford
Magistrates
1.
Assault - ABH
1. Community Order
with unpaid work
requirement: 100
hours
23.09.2009
Oxford
Magistrates
1.
Breach of Community
Order
1. Ordered to work
10 extra hours
List complete:

(with details of any offence taken into
consideration)
Sentence
Date of
release
Continuation sheet attached: Yes No  relevant box
ATTENDANCE NOTE
Client:
Matter:
File No:
Date:
Person Engaged:
Andrew Young
Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm
060606
19 October 2010
MH
Andrew Young confirmed the matters set out in the pre-sentence report. He is still
living with his brother, who also works at the Williams F1 factory, and he confirmed
that he has no intention of making any further contact with his wife, against whom he
will be starting divorce proceedings in the near future.
There are no children from the marriage with Cheryl, but Andrew Young does have a
five year old daughter from a previous relationship, who stays with him every
weekend. Andrew Young is very anxious about the potential impact on his
relationship with his daughter if he is sent to prison.
Andrew Young is also worried that he might lose his job at the Williams F1 factory if
he is imprisoned. Andrew Young left school without any qualifications, and has
worked very hard over several years to establish himself at the Williams F1 factory.
He explained that permanent contracts of the sort that he has recently obtained are
extremely hard to come by, and he is very concerned that he might never again have
a similar opportunity to establish a career for himself as an engineer.
Time engaged: 20 minutes