A man who kidnapped a York theatregoer, bundled her into a car and assaulted her as he drove out of the city has been jailed for six years.
Leon Harvey, 43, followed the victim – his ex-partner – to the Marriott Hotel in York where he confronted her and frogmarched her out of the hotel in front of horrified guests, York Crown Court heard.
He then punched and kicked her, causing her to fall over causing injuries to her face, lip and knee.
He then grabbed her by the arm and bundled her into his car.
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Harvey drove out of York with the terrified victim trapped inside the car, punching her as he did so, said prosecutor Andrew Semple.
He said the shocking incident was witnessed by people at the hotel on Tadcaster Road who called police.
Harvey began punching the named victim as he was driving away from the city. Then, bizarrely, he stopped to pick up a Chinese takeaway.
He then drove her to his home where she desperately tried to plan an escape, telling Harvey she needed to go to the shops for toiletries, but Harvey wouldn’t let her out of his sight.
Instead, he got back in his car and was about to drive her to the shops himself, only for police to turn up and arrest him.
He was charged with kidnap and assault occasioning actual bodily harm but denied the offences, only to be found guilty after a four-day trial earlier this year.
He appeared for sentence via video link today (6 August) after being remanded in custody. Sentence had been adjourned last week when he kept interrupting the judge during his sentencing remarks and referred to the victim as “my woman”.
During that hearing, the court was told that Harvey, from Burke Street in Scunthorpe, who previously lived at Eastcroft Drive, Sheffield, once served a long stretch behind bars for attempted murder.
Prosecuting barrister Mr Semple said the kidnap victim was meeting a friend to go to the theatre in York on 13 September last year, blissfully unaware that Harvey was following her in his own vehicle.
Mr Semple said the suspicion, although not proven, was that Harvey attached a “physical item”, likened to an Air Tag, to her car which enabled him to track her, although the tracker was never found.
He said that on the day Harvey stalked her all the way to the Marriott Hotel, the victim had sent him a message saying: “I’m not in love with you. The relationship is over. I don’t appreciate you living rent-free in my house.”
Harvey texted her back, saying: “Make sure you are home. Watch if I catch you with a guy.”
‘I feared for my life’
In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said: “Since the offences, my life has changed significantly.
“The impact of (Harvey’s) behaviour, the kidnap and assault affected me physically, emotionally and financially and continues to affect me every day.”
She described the emotional impact as “profound and overwhelming”.
“I experienced fear and anxiety and felt I was going mad,” she added.
“I felt I was being followed and monitored. I felt unsafe even in places where I should feel secure.”
She said the assault caused injuries which affected her ability to work. She ended up going on sick leave for about a month and suffered financial loss as a result.
“The fear and emotional trauma have made it difficult to return to normal daily activities and employment,” she added.
“It has affected my confidence and independence. At times I genuinely feared for my life and feared I might be killed.”
Harvey was convicted of the attempted murder of a different victim in 2006, resulting in a hefty jail sentence. His prison licence for that sentence didn’t expire until 2023.
During that time, he was recalled to prison three times, once when the victim in the new case spoke to police about alleged violence against her. She later withdrew those allegations.
‘Meted out punishment’
At the start of today’s sentence hearing, Harvey’s barrister Adrian Strong – the third learned counsel to represent him in the case – said that his client had requested another adjournment because he wanted to be represented by the same barrister who spoke for him during his trial.
That request was summarily refused and matters proceeded straight to sentence.
Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Harvey: “Your victim repeatedly tried to make you understand that this relationship was over but you could not see it and you still cannot see it.
“Even in the pre-sentence report, you refer to her as ‘your woman’ when she is not, and I’m convinced that this is embedded and indelible in your mind and will never go away.”
He added: “She messaged you repeatedly that she didn’t love you any more and that she didn’t want you living with her.
“She tried to make you understand the relationship was over, but you could just not accept it. You are convinced that this woman is your property in my view.
“You put a tracker on her car to stalk her and you followed her when she was going to meet a friend to go to the theatre and stay over in York.
“You would have known that she was in a hotel with another man because you followed her to that hotel.
“You then meted out punishment to your victim by punching her while you were driving and you wouldn’t let her out of your sight. It was a deliberate act of punishment.”
The judge described Harvey’s tracking of the victim as “highly sophisticated and planned conduct”.
Harvey was jailed for six years and made subject to a 20-year restraining order, banning him from contacting and approaching the victim.
Showed no remorse
The investigating officer, PC Simone Frost, said: “In his interviews, Harvey showed no remorse and it was clear he believed he had every right to act the way he did. He showed typical abusive behaviour which was possessive and entitled.
“The victim has shown great courage throughout. Thankfully this sentence puts an end to Harvey’s coercive and controlling behaviour and, I hope, goes some way in helping the victim move forward with her life.
“I hope this sentence encourages other victims, who are suffering at the hands of abusers, to come forward and report what is happening to them.”