A thug who smashed his way into a house in the early hours and dragged his former partner out against her will has been jailed.
Cameron O'Neill, who has a history harassing and stalking women, was on a suspended sentence for breaching a restraining order on his ex when he struck again. The victim was at her friend's house in Killingworth, North Tyneside, when O'Neill began sending messages to the friend asking if she was there and accusing her of cheating on him.
He then turned up, uninvited, at 4am and tried to gain entry, shouting and causing a disturbance while the friend's child was in bed. The two women barricaded themselves into a bedroom and frantically rang police asking them to come quickly but they did not get there in time.
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John Crawford, prosecuting, told Newcastle Crown Court: "The defendant broke in through the front door, injuring his hand, then made his way upstairs, leaving blood throughout the property. He grabbed his ex partner and pulled her out of the property despite her trying to hold onto a stair gate.
"There was damage caused to the property and the defendant dragged her outside. She was not wearing shoes and had no coat on."
The court heard O'Neill gave the woman his shoes, meaning his feet were injured and also gave her his coat. She reluctantly went with him to her home and waited for the police to arrive, which they did at 5.30am.
O'Neill, 31, of Glebe Villas, Forest Hall, was originally charged with kidnap but that charge was dropped and he pleaded guilty to breaching the restraining order and criminal damage. He was jailed for 16 months and given an indefinite restraining order by Recorder Ben Nolan KC.
In a victim impact statement, the woman said: "I thought I was not going to come out alive. He behaved like a maniac.
"I've always been scared of him but on this night it was another level. He even injured himself to get to me and I don't know who he is anymore.
"My feet didn't touch the ground as he took me. I didn't even make a sound, I was so petrified. I'm still paying the price for the relationship with him."
The court heard O'Neill has 25 previous convictions, including harassing another former partner in 2011 and breaching a restraining order in relation to her. In December 2020 he got a restraining order for harassing the victim in the latest offence and in 2021 he was convicted of stalking her. He breached his restraining order in relation to her twice in January this year, for which he got a 16 month suspended sentence.
Jessica Slaughter, defending, said: "Fortunately there was no physical injury caused to her. The injury was to him, quite a nasty injury to his hand. He also had an injury to his feet after giving her his shoes and coat - he was doing his best to look after her."
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