Locations
Northbrook Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1
Description
A man who violently assaulted his partner over a period of months has been jailed.
Vicentiu Luca Calin, 29 (04.01.92) of Northbrook Road, Ilford, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 5 November 2021 where he was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment.
Calin pleaded guilty to GBH with intent, actual bodily harm and assault by beating at an earlier hearing on Tuesday, 24 August. An additional charge of false imprisonment will lie on file.
The court heard that on Friday, 1 January, officers were attending a call at a hospital in Ilford when they were approached by the woman’s friend, who informed officers that she had been kidnapped and seriously assaulted by Calin.
The survivor, who was aged 26 at the time of the offences, reported to the police that the pair were staying in a hotel together in October 2020 and that Calin became violent with her over a three-month period.
Calin repeatedly assaulted the survivor over the course of October 2020 to December 2020 whilst they were in a relationship. Between the Christmas Day and 27 December 2020, Calin assaulted the woman so severely she sustained a bleed on her brain and permanent scarring to her face.
He would become increasingly aggressive and controlling towards her, not letting her speak to her family, preventing her from accessing any help and threatening to kill her.
During the course of the relationship he tortured the survivor by burning her face and body with lit cigarettes and beating her with items of furniture within the hotel room. Calin admitted that he had caused the facial injuries using lit cigarettes because the woman spent too long looking in the mirror, and that she believed that she was pretty.
Furthermore, the woman has been left with permanent scarring to her face and body and numbness to her lips which impacts her ability to speak, eat and drink.
On Sunday 27, December, the survivor convinced Calin to let her go out to speak to her friends, to prevent them becoming concerned about her and raising the alarm.
In this time, she got a taxi to another hotel, seeking refuge. The woman and her friend visited the hospital shortly after for her to get treatment.
Calin was arrested for multiple offences on Sunday, 3 January. Officers who located Calin found the vehicle he was using was covered in blood.
Detective Sergeant Janet Glover of the North East BCU Public Protection Unit said:
“This was a complex investigation that was carried out diligently by my colleague Detective Constable Campion. She worked tirelessly with the victim in this case ensuring that she had the necessary support to see this case through to court.”
Detective Constable Amy Campion said: “I would like to pay tribute to the survivor for having the courage to come forward and give evidence in this case.
“She has shown tremendous courage throughout this investigation, from the initial allegation to her attendance at court and her ability to speak out about the horrendous domestic abuse that she has suffered at the hands of Calin.
“With her bravery and assistance in this case, we have ensured that this dangerous offender was brought to justice and ultimately received a lengthy custodial sentence at court.