Southampton man jailed for rape and assault of former partner
A Southampton man has been jailed for more than 10 years after raping and violently assaulting his former partner during a controlling and abusive relationship.
Levi Slack-Smith, 21, was sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Tuesday, 23 December), after being convicted of multiple serious offences against the woman he was in a relationship with at the time.
The court heard Slack-Smith deliberately isolated the victim from her friends and exercised coercive control over her movements. He threatened to send intimate photographs of her to people she knew, made derogatory and aggressive comments towards her, and repeatedly blamed her for his own violent behaviour.
When the victim tried to end the relationship, Slack-Smith assaulted her. The court heard he would hit and kick her and strangled her on multiple occasions, including one incident where he caused her to lose consciousness. He also raped her repeatedly throughout the relationship.
Following a trial, Slack-Smith was convicted of four counts of rape and five counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He had previously pleaded guilty to malicious communications and making threats to disclose private sexual photographs.
As part of his obsessive behaviour, Slack-Smith disliked the victim going anywhere without him. On one occasion, after kicking her down the stairs, he told her: “I don’t know why you do this to me.”
In a statement read aloud in court, the victim described the impact of the abuse, saying:
“There are so many things Levi has said and done to me which shows he has no respect for women, or any human being at all. He raped me, beat me, spat at me, degraded and abused me in every possible way he could. He tried to destroy me and my life.
“Since the trial, I have felt a huge sense of relief knowing that he was found guilty and remanded. I have been able to go out by myself and I have gone back to college to do what I always wanted to do and hopefully one day I will fulfil my dreams.
“I want to thank everyone who has helped me throughout, especially my ISVA (independent sexual violence advisor), who was there for me and helped me out so much. I can’t thank the police officers enough – it may have taken a while but we got there and got the best possible outcome – thank you.”
Slack-Smith was also sentenced for a dangerous driving offence after officers pursued him near his home on 13 February this year. He was driving a vehicle with cloned number plates and reached speeds of up to 60mph before being arrested.
Sentencing him, Judge Daniel Sawyer said the abuse covered almost every form of domestic violence, telling Slack-Smith:
“This ‘relationship’ had almost the entire range of abuse – sexual, violent and emotional abuse.
“Two of the ABHs involved strangulation. It is shockingly dangerous and can lead to sudden unpredictable death. It is a uniquely terrifying form of abuse and the biggest red flag there can be in terms of domestic violence.
“The court looks extremely seriously on this violence. In terms of harm there was undoubtedly severe psychological harm here.”
Speaking after the sentencing, the investigating officer, Police Sergeant Investigator Rebecca Stevens, said:
“Levi Slack-Smith is a vile and reprehensible man, who has no respect for women and refuses to take ownership of his own behaviour and actions.
“Thanks to the immense courage shown by the woman in this case, he now has plenty of time to contemplate those actions, and he is not able to pose a threat to any other women.”
Hampshire Police said anyone affected by sexual abuse or violence can contact police on 101 to speak to an officer in confidence. Support is also available for those who do not wish to report to police, with specialist services offering help to deal with the impact of abuse.
