Thug who ripped out clump of partner's hair in Leeds New Year's Eve assault 'only sorry he was caught'

A judge told Owen Sealy that he “took no responsibility” for the assault having turned up at the woman’s house in Leeds and got into an argument, before he threw against the wall and tore her hair out.

The attack lasted up to an hour, prosecutor Joe Culley told Leeds Crown Court, and when she tried to call for the police, he grabbed her phone and smashed it against the wall.

Sealy, formerly of Bramley but now of Park Avenue, Abergaveny, south Wales, admitted actual bodily harm and criminal damage. He appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.

Mitigating, Stuart Field said 34-year-old Sealy sad he had been so heavily intoxicated at the time his memory of the incident was “hazy”, but does not dispute what happened, indicated by his early guilty plea in the proceedings.

He said he expressed remorse for acting in an “awful and regrettable manner”. Sealy admitted he had an issue with alcohol and “acknowledges the effect it has on him”, Mr Field added. He had also attended Alcoholics Anonymous to work on his problems.

Sealy has 12 convictions for 16 offences, including four for ABH and two common assaults.

Judge Simon Batiste jailed him for two years and said: “You have a bad record for offences of violence. You may have been sorry you were caught, but you do not accept responsibility whatsoever. Only an immediate sentence can be justified.”