A 21 year old man Ryan Guntrip, has been jailed because he told his girlfriend he
wished he had never got her pregnant, punched her in the stomach and therafter, she lost the baby.A medical examination carried out the day after Carina MacKay miscarried revealed that the baby had died, but prosecutors could not prove Ryan Guntrip, 21, was responsible.
Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday that he and Ms MacKay had been arguing at her home in Clacton, Essex, where he was staying on June 18 this year.
He flew into a rage, told her he wished he’d never got her pregnant and punched her in the stomach.
He also put his arms on her shoulders to move her out of the way, the court heard.
The next morning Ms MacKay noticed she was bleeding and went for tests, which revealed the baby was dead.
The court heard she was in the early stages of pregnancy and medics could not be certain what caused the baby’s death.
Guntrip, who has a history of violence, admitted assault by beating.
He was out on licence at the time of the incident for a previous domestic assault, the court heard.
District Judge John Woollard jailed Guntrip for 16 weeks.
He said: 'You have an appalling record of violence. I’m not sentencing you for the tragic consequences.
The crown has decided it can’t prove what caused it, but you did punch a pregnant woman in the stomach when she was expecting a child.'
The judge also made a restraining order, banning Guntrip from contacting Ms McKay, going to the street where she lives or to her grandmother’s house.
Roger Brice, mitigating, said Guntrip wants closure and said there is no link between this incident and the tragic consequences.
He said Guntrip has been using his time in custody productively.
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