A youth worker and reformed armed robber found guilty of a vicious attack on his ex-girlfriend has escaped jail.

Luke Sewell of Lower Coombe Road, South Croydon, punched and kicked the 20-year-old in a sustained assault in the early hours of March 16, after a row about him cheating on her.

The 24-year-old had denied the attack in which he yanked the victim's hair so hard he left her with a bald patch, but was found guilty by magistrates.

Giving evidence at Croydon Magistrates Court earlier this month, the victim who had a two-year relationship with Sewell said: "We were having a really bad argument and he just started to hit me.

"There was nothing I could do about it. He just flipped. "He threw me across the floor and I skidded across it. I went flying across the floor.

"My knees were all grazed from where my jeans were ripped. He was saying 'you are f***ed, you are f***ed' and that I was going to regret it."

Today Sewell, who met the victim during a night out in Croydon town centre, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months.

Magistrates told him the nature of the assault and the injuries sustained by the victim were so serious he would also have to attend a Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) for 40 days.

He was also made subject of a restraining order and must not contact the victim directly or indirectly until further notice.

He was ordered to pay his former girlfriend £200 compensation, as well as a victim surcharge of £80 and court costs of £750.

In November 2007, Sewell was jailed for five years for robbing a shop in South Croydon armed with a handgun.

He was released after two-and-a-half years of his sentence but was jailed months later after being convicted of causing grievous bodily harm.

But after his last spell behind bars, the 24-year-old decided to turn his back on a life of crime and began working as youth mentor warning others about the dangers of getting involved in crime.

He was the focus of a short film for ITV News on the theme of young people 'fixing' the future, but the film was dropped when the latest assault allegation emerged.

 

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