Thug who used dog lead and sword to beat girlfriend in Leeds is jailed for nine years

Leeds Crown Court heard Lee Richards also held a knife to another woman and told her he would “slit her throat” unless she complied with his demands during a sex assault.

Richards, 27, subjected his now former partner to violence between March and May last year at an address in the Hunslet area of south Leeds.

He attacked her on numerous occasions, beat her with a dog lead, punched and kicked her and forced her to strip before beating her with the samurai sword.

The court heard he smashed her head into the fridge and told his victim he preferred to attack her in the kitchen as it was easier to clean up afterwards.

Richards falsely imprisoned the woman by tying her up with a vacuum cleaner flex lead for around five minutes.

Richards also held a knife to another woman’s throat during a sex assault in Leeds. The court heard Richards told the woman he would “slit her throat” if she didn’t comply with his demands.

Reading a statement written by the sex assault victim, prosecutor Richard Walters said: “She feels a degree of shame, even though she knows it was not her fault.”

Reading the victim impact statement of Richards’ former partner, Mr Walters said: “She suffers from anxiety and depression and has difficulty sleeping.”

Mitigating, Allan Armbrister, said: “He is not able to handle relationships. He has been in prison for ten months. He has been able to receive treatment and help for the personality disorder he has.”

Richards, of Hickling Close, Hull, admitted a string of charges including six charges of assault causing bodily harm, two common assaults, one charge of false imprisonment, criminal damage, affray and sexual assault.

Jailing Richards for nine years, judge Mushtak Khokhar told him: “Your victim endured during that period violence and degradation that the majority of people don’t experience in their lifetime.”