A MAN who assaulted his partner in 2003 has walked free from court.
Judge David Aubrey said he believed James Leather, 52, had done “remarkably well” to turn his life around since being released from a subsequent prison stretch.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Leather was jailed for four years in 2006 for possessing drugs with intent.
But Martin Reid, prosecuting, admitted the authorities had failed to notice Leather’s previous crime, and the assault on his then-partner Claire Booth was still outstanding.
She was left with bruising and cuts after Leather had forced his way into her home and attacked her in the kitchen on March 15, 2003.
But Judge Aubrey took the “exceptional step” of imposing a conditional discharge, on Leather, of Bainton Close, Kirkby, saying he was impressed how he was living a settled life with his daughter since his release from prison.
