A man who attacked his ex-partner and threw his son eight feet across a room has been jailed after committing further offences. James Endean, 24, from Truro, was originally given a chance by the court and given two suspended sentences but has failed to change his behaviour.
Endean appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of harassment: breach of a restraining order on conviction and one count of assault. During the prosecution of the case, Piers Norsworthy explained how Endean and his then partner had been in an on-and-off relationship for seven years and had three children together.
Endean was said to be jealous of who his former partner contacted on social media and tried to contact her via Snapchat to try to get her back. If she said she was at work, he would come in and threaten her.
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“As a young person, I think something like National Service would be a good thing.”
In February this year, Endean went to the takeaway restaurant where his ex-partner worked and said he wanted money from her. He was heard to kick over a bin and grab her by the throat, and when a customer came in she said she had to serve them as she was the only member of staff working. Endean stayed in the restaurant the entire time and when she gave him money after serving the customer, he left.
On another occasion, Endean turned up at her address while she was in the bath and pushed his phone through her front door letterbox. When she got out, she recognized that he had hung his phone through the door and slid it back through.
Endean called her to say his phone was broken and called her ab***h. He then tried to climb through the bathroom window and she told him she would meet him at a nearby park. Endean was heard grabbing her by the neck in the park and carrying some sort of knife with which he tried to cut his stomach and arms in front of her, saying she didn’t care about him.
He started yelling in her face and asking to show him her Snapchat in her house. When she said she would do it outside, he grabbed her and said he “didn’t want to be like that” but blamed it on his drug addiction.
Endean’s ex-partner then tried to offer him money to find somewhere to stay, but when he rejected the offer, she gave him money to buy himself some food. When he returned later that evening, she said he was able to stay on the couch and the police were called the next day.
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In a victim impact statement, Endean’s partner described how she felt “really scared” by every sound she heard at home or at work because she thought it was him coming after her. She said: ‘He has the ability to seriously hurt me, especially if drugs are involved.
“He is unpredictable and pops up randomly. Even when we are not together he tries to control me, he tells his family not to talk to me. His insults and the feeling that I am worthless have affected my self-confidence. I don’t go out much and it has affected me socially, I have no friends. We have three children together and his son misses his father figure. They used to have a good relationship, but he ruined that.”
In mitigation, it was heard that Endean’s previous inability to control his temper or emotions, especially at a time when he was abusing substances, was the cause of his offending. However, it was learned that he has shown early signs of wanting to address these issues.
Endean is also said to have no interest in rekindling a relationship with his former partner and has taken a number of courses to continue to address his mood and emotions.
Sentencing Endean, Judge Simon Carr said: “The victim of all your offending has been your former partner, with whom you have three children. From what I’ve seen, it’s been an abusive relationship the entire time.
“You cannot control your anger and you use physical violence against your partner, even when your children were in the house. Money that could have been better spent on children was spent on your drug addiction.
“When you committed the offenses in 2024, you were physically and verbally abusive and harassed her at home and in the workplace in a way that she would have found frightening. I cannot ignore the circumstances of the offending over a period of time.”
Endean was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison.
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