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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Man who attacked ex to try to bring on miscarriage jailed for 10 years | Man who attacked ex to try to bring on miscarriage jailed for 10 years |
| (30 days later) | |
| A former police constable jailed for 10 years after repeatedly punching his pregnant ex-girlfriend in the stomach to try to bring on a miscarriage is "callous, cold-hearted and utterly selfish", his victim said. Matthew Cherry, 35, used a balaclava and a fake foreign accent to launch the "savage attack" in Caroline Craft's ground-floor flat in Bournemouth. He punched her in the stomach and back, targeting her unborn child and leaving her "bloodied and bruised", but she was not seriously harmed and gave birth to a boy called Archie – now 15 months old. | A former police constable jailed for 10 years after repeatedly punching his pregnant ex-girlfriend in the stomach to try to bring on a miscarriage is "callous, cold-hearted and utterly selfish", his victim said. Matthew Cherry, 35, used a balaclava and a fake foreign accent to launch the "savage attack" in Caroline Craft's ground-floor flat in Bournemouth. He punched her in the stomach and back, targeting her unborn child and leaving her "bloodied and bruised", but she was not seriously harmed and gave birth to a boy called Archie – now 15 months old. |
| Cherry was angry and upset that Craft, 27, would not have an abortion and the pair split up, Winchester crown court heard during the eight-day trial. Cherry wept and nearly fainted when the jury delivered the unanimous verdict, and he kept repeating "I didn't do it" as he was jailed. | Cherry was angry and upset that Craft, 27, would not have an abortion and the pair split up, Winchester crown court heard during the eight-day trial. Cherry wept and nearly fainted when the jury delivered the unanimous verdict, and he kept repeating "I didn't do it" as he was jailed. |
| But in a statement Miss Craft, who is also a police officer, said she had no sympathy. | But in a statement Miss Craft, who is also a police officer, said she had no sympathy. |
| "The past 18 months have been a living hell. The actions of Matthew Cherry on that day were callous, cold-hearted and utterly selfish. I will never forgive him for what he did to me and what he so nearly could have done to my baby," she said. | "The past 18 months have been a living hell. The actions of Matthew Cherry on that day were callous, cold-hearted and utterly selfish. I will never forgive him for what he did to me and what he so nearly could have done to my baby," she said. |
| Cherry, now living in Southampton, denied attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent in March last year in the "well-planned" attack. | Cherry, now living in Southampton, denied attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent in March last year in the "well-planned" attack. |
| But the jury convicted him, rejecting his claim that he was not the attacker and was several miles away renovating a house. | But the jury convicted him, rejecting his claim that he was not the attacker and was several miles away renovating a house. |
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