It was inevitable that a support worker for vulnerable adults would lose his job if he was convicted of assault, magistrates at Truro heard this week.

Richard William Henry James, 43, of Holmans Place, Porthleven pleaded guilty to two charges at Truro Magistrates' Court, the first being that between August 13, 2021 and August 16, 2021 he damaged a television, and between August 13, 2021 and August 16, 2021 he assaulted a woman by beating.

Prosecutor Alison May told magistrates that on this particular evening there was a call to the police over an argument.

Shouting was heard at the address and James could be heard shouting about text messages. While the woman could heard saying: "Please get off me. Go away".

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The court was told James was seen abusing the woman and attacking her. At one point he threw a television on the floor of a bedroom before telling her to 'Get the f**k out'," . 

She was described as being "petrified" and "tearful and really upset".

The police were called and James was arrested.

The court was told that the woman's mother had requested a safe zone for her daughter, who was pregnant, in the form of a restraining order because of concerns over her safety.

James' defence solicitor told magistrates that James was a man of previous good character with no issues with alcohol or drugs but this conviction would be a problem for him as he worked as a support worker with vulnerable adults. "He is DBS checked and this means that it is inevitable he is going to lose his job," he said.

"He tells me the application for a restraining order is not supported by [the victim] and asks you to consider that when considering whether a restraining order is really necessary."

He said James had issues that he had discussed with the probation service, who proposed a 12-month community order.

Magistrates issued James with a one-year community order and ordered him to complete 120 hours of unpaid work within that time. He was also ordered to pay a £90 surcharge and costs of £85. No restraining order was made.