Northampton man imprisoned after beating disabled father and throwing his teeth in the back garden

A Northampton man has been imprisoned after assaulting his disabled father, who he was caring for at the time.

Simon Pearson, aged 54, previously of Carey Close, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday, December 22 after pleading guilty to assaulting a person thereby occasioning them actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

The assault took place at a Moulton address on July 1 earlier this year, when Pearson was living with and caring for his disabled father, the court heard.

Ben Gow, prosecuting, said Pearson - who had been drinking - leaned into his father to obstruct his view of the television and his father pushed him out of the way. This caused Pearson to stumble and then fall over.

The court heard that Pearson then aggressively challenged his father, asking: “Who’s the hardest?” to which his father replied, “No.”

Mr Gow said Pearson then went into the back garden, where he banged around, punched walls and smashed a plant pot.

His father asked him to stop and Pearson re-entered the house, stood over his father who was sitting in a chair and grabbed his throat, the court heard.

Pearson then grabbed his father’s shirt collar, punched him to the head multiple times on both sides.

The court heard that the victim could not defend himself or cover his head as a result of his mobility issues. He was left with swelling to both sides of his face and a cut to his left eye because he was wearing glasses at the time of the attack.

Mr Gow said that, during the assault, the victim’s teeth came out of his mouth and Pearson threw them into the garden.

The victim was able to get outside, where he was looked after by a neighbour and they called the police.

Pearson has previously been convicted for 14 offences including common assault, driving with excess alcohol, drunk and disorderly offences, battery, ABH and threats to kill.

Henry James, in mitigation, said: “He is deeply ashamed of what took place.”

The defence barrister told the court that Pearson suffers with an alcohol addiction, which dates back to when he was a young man, and he needs structure and routine to help him tackle it.

Mr James said that Pearson is “devastated” about no longer being in touch with his father, who he said he had been close with for many years but “living on top of each other during the coronavirus pandemic was difficult”.

Recorder Huston, addressing the defendant, said: “You deliberately degraded your father by throwing his teeth outdoors and the offence was committed because you were drunk.

“You have a history of drunken violence against those who are weak and unable to fight back.

“You are a coward and your behaviour is despicable in every sense.”

Pearson was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and, for the criminal damage, no separate penalty was imposed.

A restraining order was imposed between Pearson and the victim for five years.