Overview
- Police said Blaney, 39, attacked a woman in her Whitby home on December 23, struck her in the face, waved a large kitchen knife, and snapped her phone after saying, "You think you can mess with me?"
- He returned later that day and banged on the door, prompting the victim to flee to a friend's home and contact police.
- Officers arrested him on Christmas Eve, he was charged and remanded on Christmas Day, and he appeared at York Magistrates' Court on Boxing Day.
- Magistrates jailed him for five weeks for assault and criminal damage and activated an existing 18-week suspended sentence for a similar earlier offence, making 23 weeks in total.
- The court imposed a two-year restraining order to protect the victim, and North Yorkshire Police condemned Blaney as a perpetrator of violence against women while praising the victim's cooperation.