A domestic abuser who confessed to pulling a knife on his girlfriend in a chilling video clip has been jailed.
Jack Hennessy stalked and abused a woman in Maidstone in a campaign of violence, control, and intimidation that lasted several months, even threatening to blow up her car after the police became involved.
At one point he held a knife to his victim’s neck, admitting the violent act in a recording taken on a mobile phone and shared by Kent Police, following his sentencing.
In the clip, Hennessy can be heard saying: “I love her, she loves me, you know what I mean? I accept what I have done. I lost the plot on drugs and pulled a knife and went mad.”
Hennessy was arrested in January last year following a report that he had thrown the victim across the room and threatened her with a kitchen knife.
But a subsequent investigation revealed that he had already subjected the woman to a relentless stream of physical, mental, and emotional abuse for over a year.
When she attempted to leave him, he would turn up unannounced at her home at all hours of the day.
Threats were made through constant phone calls and when Hennessy learned that police had been informed of the abuse he even warned he would “blow up her car.”
Hennessy, of no fixed address, was charged with stalking involving fear of violence.
He was also charged with controlling and coercive behaviour, and with threatening with an offensive weapon.
The 37-year-old pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday March 15 and was sentenced to three years and four months in jail.
On his release from prison, he will be the subject of a five-year restraining order.
Nobody should have to tolerate this kind of behavior
PC Olivia Cox said: “Hennessy is a violent and aggressive bully, the likes of whom can make victims’ lives a misery.”
“He used abuse, fear, and intimidation to exert control over almost every aspect of her life.
“I’m pleased the courts have passed a custodial sentence as this will afford the victim the time and space needed to help break away from his control and allow her to move on with her life.
She said: “Tackling domestic abuse remains an absolute priority for Kent Police. I would encourage anyone who is a victim of domestic abuse to come forward.
“ Nobody should have to tolerate this kind of behaviour or feel they are unable to walk away from an abusive relationship.
“It is important to remember you are not alone.”
