An abusive thug rang his pregnant ex from prison over 100 times to get her to drop her statement against him, claiming he would ‘get revenge’. Jordan Burton, 22, attacked his former girlfriend on at least three occasions, despite her being pregnant with his unborn daughter.
On one occasion he threw a hoover at her six times leaving her with multiple bruises. On another occasion he struck her with a piece of wood, Manchester Crown Court heard.
After reporting him to the police he continued messaging her and sending abuse and telling her to die. He was reported again and remanded into custody, where he managed to get her number added to his prison contact list and rang her up to 100 times ordering to ‘retract or he’d get revenge’.
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Prosecuting, Claire Brocklebank said the pair had gotten into a relationship in June 2019 after meeting through a friend. They moved in together in County Durham before moving to Manchester in 2020 for a ‘fresh start’. However, things took a turn for the worse in February 2022 when she was two months pregnant.
Burton had previously been arrested for unrelated matters and was released from police custody. After returning home he accused her of being unfaithful with a neighbour and called her a ‘ditsy s**g’ before picking up a hoover and throwing it at her.
“He did this a further six times, with the hoover hitting her to the both legs,” Ms Brocklebank said.
“Throughout the ordeal she was crying and asking him to stop out of anxiety and fear that it could hit her stomach.”
A day later the woman was searching for an auxiliary cord when an argument developed. Burton pulled her by the hair and then struck her with a piece of wood causing her to bleed.
By the end of February their relationship was coming to an end.
“Mid-argument, the defendant began throwing a number of items at her including a deodorant can, plastic bottles of drink and an iron, which struck her” the prosecutor continued.
“He was shouting at her to the point she was covering her stomach, trying to protect her unborn baby. He then grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the floor, causing some of her hair to come out.”
He told her to die and threatened her after arrest
The relationship came to an end on March 10 when the couple were at a service station in Cheshire and the police were called as a result of him being abusive. The woman moved back to County Durham and later gave a statement about Burton’s behaviour.
They continued speaking over Snapchat and Facebook Messenger, with Burton promising that he was ‘going to change’, but the messages turned abusive. He told her to ‘keep going and your windows will be put through’, told her to die and said she would ‘never get anyone like [him] again’.
He repeatedly told her to die and even threatened her parents’ address, the court heard. She complained to the police and he was arrested and interviewed, but later released under investigation.
In May Burton contacted her on Snapchat saying he hoped their ‘unborn daughter would die’. The woman asked if the baby mattered, and he replied: “No she don’t, die rat, I don’t care anymore, f**k you c**t.”
He also called her a ‘police informant’, said she ‘deserved every bat she got’ and said he ‘only hits skets’.
In August, the woman provided a retraction statement, but later said she actually supported the prosecution and said that Burton had been contacting her from custody.
“The defendant was able to add her number to his prison phone contact list, and had telephoned her around 100 times, including up to multiple times in one day,” the prosecutor said.
The prison service eventually removed her from the contact list but he used other phones within the prison and told her to retract her statement. He also told her to ‘stand up and lie’ in court, adding that she would get a ‘slap on the wrist’ and he would pay the fine.
When she told him she had gotten into a new relationship, even though she hadn’t, Burton also threatened to get someone to ‘kick the f**k out of her’ and said that he wished he’d thrown the hoover at her head.
“Essentially, he was saying ‘Retract or I’ll get revenge’”, Ms Brocklebank said.
He also tried to guilt trip her, saying he was going to miss all the important moments in his daughter’s life, before saying that if he got more than three years in prison he would ‘kill himself’ and she would have to explain to their daughter how it was ‘her fault’.
"I don’t understand why me carrying his daughter was not enough to stop the abuse from happening"
In a victim personal statement, the woman said: “I was pregnant at the time and I knew the only way our unborn baby would be safe was if I was to escape that relationship.”
She said he made her feel ‘worthless’ and she didn’t understand what she had done to deserve such violent behaviour.
“I don’t understand why me carrying his daughter was not enough to stop the abuse from happening,” she continued.
“I often thought she wouldn’t make it full term. I wasn’t myself throughout the relationship with Jordan, I’d moved away from my family and friends because of him, I didn’t have anyone except him. I didn’t have contact with my family for a year-and-a-half.”
Burton was said to have previous convictions on his record, and was subject to a community order at the time.
Defending, Laura Broome said her client accepted responsibility for his ‘utterly unacceptable behaviour’. She said he had a ‘difficult’ childhood and struggled with managing his emotions.
“He has sought help in prison for his mental health issues. He knows he needs to change and he hopes one day he can be a good father,” she said.
Sentencing, Recorder Paul Reid KC said: “Your language towards your unborn child was quite appalling. She was pregnant throughout all of this and was vulnerable.”
Burton, of Washway Road, Sale, was jailed for three years and one month after pleading guilty to assault by beating, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, sending malicious communications and perverting the court of justice. He was also made the subject of a restraining order indefinitely.
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