Seaton man found guilty of assault.

A Seaton man was convicted in his absence of assaulting a former girlfriend when he appeared at Central Devon Magistrates’ Court.

Alexander John Carey, of The Burrow, failed to appear at court last Wednesday.

The 20-year-old had previously denied the allegations.

Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said the incident arose on Wednesday, May 2, at 3.20pm when the complainant was with a friend near the Methodist Church in Seaton and the assault took place.

The complainant, who gave evidence via video link, told the court that, up until the incident, she had been in a relationship for 14-months with the defendant.

She told the court she had arranged to meet Carey and had told him she wanted to meet a friend. She said: “He made a face and got really funny with me. He started turning really violent towards me.”

She later met up with a friend and says she spotted the defendant near Seaton Football Club and says he ran into a hedge and later up to her and punched her.

She described her friend stepping in between them to stop the defendant.

“There were kids around that area and he was putting on a show, shouting at me in the middle of the street – not feeling safe in my own town,” she said.

She said Carey seemed “very angry” and said “I want to talk to you”.

The complainant added: “He basically grabbed me on my arm, as I am trying to struggle to move away, and he punched me in the face.”

She told the court the punch skimmed her face.

She also described how the defendant followed her, shouting abusive comments and throwing large stones, and said she suffered bruising as a result of the incident.

The court heard the defendant shouted “I am going to get you when you are on your own”.

An interview transcript was read to the court in which Carey said his former partner had started shouting abuse and threw a punch at him.

He told police that her ring had cut his hand and that she had dug her nails into his skin.

Scratch marks on his forearm and small marks on his hand were noted by the police.

He said: “You arrested me for it, but it is the other way around.”

He went on to say “I didn’t lay a finger on her” and said his ex-girlfriend had always been aggressive towards him.

Carey added: “I have always loved her to pieces.

“I don’t know what happened, she just lashed out.”

During the interview, he denied running up towards her and said they were walking on the same side of the road.

Carey also denied hitting her and shouting abusive comments.