Barry Prest: Face of 'vile' domestic abuser who subjected ex to 'exceptionally serious' beating

A ‘vile’ domestic abuser who made his former partner feel like a ‘punching bag’ and left her in such distress she attempted to take her own life is beginning a prison sentence. 

The Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, told defendant Barry Prest, aged 42, that the second of the two attacks upon his former partner, both of which were carried out in a ‘domestic context’ four months apart, was ‘exceptionally serious’. 

He continued: “You shouted at her, you snapped at her, you then punched her around her body, first at her chin, then at her stomach, then at her pubic area and her breasts. She said she felt ‘like a punching bag’. 

“She pleaded with you to stop, you carried on. You had her telephone, you locked the doors…she was unable to get away from your violence.”

Prosecutor Ella Fornsworth said the complainant described being ‘terrified’ during the ordeal, which lasted for several hours, and ‘in her distress’ took one-and-a-half boxes of paracetamol in an attempt on her own life.

Judge Richardson said: “She eventually managed to lock herself in the lavatory, she took more tablets with a view to killing herself. You managed to get in, punches were repeated. You kicked her, punched her to the floor and dragged her around.”

Prest, of Oak Street, Grimethorpe, Barnsley, was also verbally abusive, and made derogatory comments about the complainant’s height and weight, Ms Fornsworth told the court, during a hearing held on April 24, 2024. 

After being given her phone back, the complainant called the police and was subsequently taken to Barnsley Hospital. 

Ms Fornsworth said she was found to have suffered bruising to ‘various areas’ of her body, as well as to her tongue, making it ‘hard to swallow’. Medics provided the complainant with morphine, such was her level of pain at the time of her admission, the court heard. 

During the course of the first assault, which took place following an argument between the pair, Prest punched the complainant with a ‘significant amount of force causing her to hit her head on a dado rail,’ before hitting her head on the skirting board, Ms Fornsworth said, adding that the complainant suffered a cut to her lip in the assault. 

At the conclusion of both assaults, the complainant and Prest both phoned the police, with Prest claiming that the complainant had attacked him on each occasion.

Prest’s false claims resulted in the complainant being arrested, and kept in custody overnight, following the first assault, but Prest was finally arrested following the second when the extent of the complainant’s injuries were revealed. 

In a statement read to the court, the complainant said she was in pain for around a month after the assault, continues to feel distressed and anxious, rarely leaves the house and has also experienced a flare-up in her psoriasis as a result of Prest’s actions. 

Judge Richardson said the violence Prest inflicted upon his partner was ‘unpleasant, becoming worse as the relationship progressed’. 

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He also noted that Prest was ‘drinking alcohol at all relevant times’. 

Prest was subsequently charged with, and pleaded guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at an earlier hearing. 

Defending, Rebecca Tanner said the two assaults were carried out some time ago now - with the first taking place in July 2021, and the second in October 2021 - and he has not committed any further offences in the meantime. 

Ms Tanner acknowledged that the author of Prest’s pre-sentence report concluded that he had sought to ‘minimise his behaviour,’ however, she suggested, his guilty pleas are ‘perhaps his biggest indicator of remorse’. 

“He deeply regrets his behaviour and knows his use of violence cannot be justified,” Ms Tanner said. 

She told the court that since his offending, Prest has entered into a relationship with another woman, and the pair currently live together.

“In the event he was going to be sent into custody, there would be a significant harmful impact on her. He owns the home…it’s a mortgage property. If he is sent to custody, he would not be able to keep up with payments,” Ms Tanner said. 

Jailing Prest for two years, Judge Richardson told him: “She was very battered and bruised by what you did - your conduct was vile.”

“I’ve come to the unhesitating conclusion - and this is not in any way a marginal decision - that the only appropriate sentence in your case is immediate custody…you richly deserve to go to prison for two years. This is a very bad example of its kind.”

Speaking after Prest was jailed, PC Josh Brown, officer in charge of the case, said: “Prest subjected his victim to a brutal campaign of violence as he repeatedly punched her in the face and assaulted her in different ways on multiple occasions.

“She begged him to stop, and I cannot imagine the pain she must have endured at the hands of an aggressive Prest who is now thankfully where he belongs and behind bars.

“I want to commend the victim in this case for coming forward to tell us about what happened to her. It has been a long road to justice but we are pleased a custodial sentence has now been served.

“I hope the passing of this sentence allows the victim to move on from what must have been a traumatic and terrifying ordeal.”