Kidnapper who followed ex to hotel is jailed

A man has been jailed for assaulting and kidnapping his ex-partner after tracking her to a hotel in York.

Leon Harvey, of Burke Street in Scunthorpe, marched the victim out of the premises on 13 September, after telling her he had a tracker on her car.

He then punched and kicked the woman, causing her to fall over and injure her face, lip and knee, and demanded she got into his vehicle.

The 43-year-old was found guilty of assault and kidnapping following a four-day trial in April and on Thursday he was jailed for six years at York Crown Court.

The court heard police officers had quickly caught up with Harvey's vehicle and arrested him, finding the victim's phone and keys in his possession.

The defendant's phone also had tracking apps downloaded such as "find my phone", which he had used to follow the victim.

Emails recovered from his device also showed that he had been subscribing to tracking companies, the court heard.

During Harvey's police interviews, he claimed he was in a relationship with the victim, despite the relationship having ended a number of months previous.

He denied kidnapping or assaulting her and claimed you could not kidnap someone you were in a relationship with.

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."

Harvey was also handed a 20-year restraining order against the victim.

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