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Judge’s war on wife-beaters

Mar 2 2008 by James McCarthy, Wales On Sunday

A JUDGE declared war on wife-beaters after a probation officer claimed an offence wasn’t serious.

Within an hour of being sworn in as new Cardiff recorder, Nicholas Cooke QC was outraged by a report which referred to a case as ‘not a particularly serious kind of offence.’

He was dealing with Steven Downs, 32, of Fairwater, Cardiff, who admitted puncturing his partner’s eardrum.

He said: “I actually regard this as a very serious offence and I am shocked to see this in a probation report.

“There is no question of anyone in this court – myself or my colleagues – ever regarding domestic violence as not particularly serious.

“That is not the way we view it.”

The judge refused to sentence Downs until a new report was prepared.

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