Paranoid monster Lewis Taylor, 36, left his victim with black eyes and yelled at her to “get rid” of her baby, falsely believing she had cheated on him with another man
A thug left his pregnant girlfriend “bloodied and bruised” before urinating on her in what has been branded the ‘worst domestic abuse’ case seen by a judge in his 25-year career.
Jealous and paranoid Lewis Taylor repeatedly attacked his victim in her Sheppey home after he falsely accused her of cheating on him and carrying another man’s child. In one particularly brutal attack, Taylor struck his victim’s head against a toilet cistern, causing it to smash before dragging her by her hair, hitting against walls and floors, and stuck his fingers in her mouth to stop her screaming.
When she bit him, the convicted drug dealer added to her degradation and humiliation by spitting in her face and urinating over her legs. She was described as being “in shock, shaking and frightened,” Maidstone Crown Court heard.
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The woman then faced the ordeal of having to give evidence at 36-year-old Taylor’s trial when he denied three offences of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), two of assault by beating, one of intentional strangulation and one of criminal damage. But following his conviction by the jury on all charges bar one of ABH and one of assault by beating, Judge Daniel Stevenson told the mum she could “hold her head high” after she had bravely detailed the extent of her suffering and its consequences.
Taylor was told he had been found unanimously guilty on “clear and compelling” evidence and in spite of his attempts at “gaslighting” his ex by claiming she was mentally unwell, obsessed with him and had injured herself. The judge said the fact he attacked her while pregnant “spoke volumes” about the man he was.
It was also revealed after the jury had returned its verdicts that although this was his first conviction for domestic abuse, earlier complaints of violent conduct had been made by two other women, and a restraining order was in place in respect one woman. The court heard Taylor, of Ashford, had been in a relationship with the victim for about four months when he first attacked her on June 29 after they had been out celebrating her birthday.
Having accused her of cheating, a row broke out which escalated until he pushed her onto the stairs, grabbed her neck with both hands and “took her breath away” with his tight grip. The second assault occurred a few days later, after he had again accused his partner of cheating and lying despite having been sent a photo to prove she was at work.
The court heard she was driving when Taylor grabbed by the scruff of her neck and spat in her face. The third attack happened in her home in Leysdown-on-Sea. Taylor called his partner a w***e, grabbed her face and squeezed so hard she was left with two black eyes.
He also screamed at her down the phone after she came home from a night shift and told her to “get rid” of the baby. Describing the aftermath in her victim impact statement, the woman revealed she had to live apart from her children for a week because she did not want them to see the injuries she had suffered at the hands of the man she had loved.
Once reunited, she had to lie to her “extremely upset” son about what had happened and throw away blood-covered toys. She also became triggered by noises, installed security measures, could not bear anyone touching her, and began to starve herself and make herself sick as a result of the comments he had made about her body.
She added: “I know now this is all a clear example of his manipulation and control. You can’t see it when you are in a relationship but when you look back it is clear what he has done and how awful it was. Me, my children and our baby meant nothing to him and he made this clear throughout the trial.”
Taylor was recalled to prison for breaching the licence conditions of his release from a 58-month jail term imposed in May 2022 for his involvement in a national cocaine syndicate. His six previous convictions for 11 offences also include one of threatening violence.
Jailing him therefore for a total of six years, the judge told the thug: “The photos of her injuries and her description of that assault are the worst example of domestic ABH I have encountered in my 25 years as a barrister and judge. The impact has been substantial….She loved you and you completely violated the trust that is supposed to exist between two people in a relationship.”
Taylor was also handed a 15-year restraining order.
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.
