Man trapped in Portsmouth house by two men and beaten 50 times with bat was warned: 'You’re not going anywhere sunshine.’

Bat-wielding menace Jonathan Barrett, 44, was jailed after beating the male during the ‘sustained’ incident with an accomplice, who warned the victim: ‘You’re not going anywhere sunshine.’

The trapped victim was smacked over the head and body around 50 times inside Barrett’s home on July 29, 2021, after staying overnight for drinks having been thrown out of his home. Portsmouth Crown Court heard how the complainant thought he was ‘going to die’ during the punishing attack that left him with a broken nose and blood pouring down his face.

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Prosecutor Jeffrey Lamb said: ‘Mr Barrett was with an unknown male holding a wooden bat. The victim asked if everything was ok before Mr Barrett swung the bat onto his right cheek, with (the victim) asking, “What have I done?”.’

Barrett, of Fyning Street, then levelled the allegation against the complainant before the defendant’s friend took hold of the bat – thought to be either a baseball or rounders bat –and continued to batter the imprisoned male with it, hitting him on the nose. ‘(The victim) tries to leave but the front door is locked. (Barrett’s) friend then hits (the victim) in the arms and head and says: “You’re not going anywhere sunshine”,’ Mr Lamb said.

After being smashed with the bat for around 10 minutes the male victim was allowed to leave, with Barrett saying: ‘You’re lucky you’re walking out.’

The court heard the victim was left with bruises and swelling on his face and his back, as well as the broken nose after he attended hospital. Despite a badly injured elbow, X-Rays showed it was not fractured. Barrett’s accomplice was never discovered.

In a phone call to the victim’s girlfriend recorded the following day, Barrett said: ‘I locked him downstairs and beat him.’

When police arrested Barrett he told them he got rid of the bat and referenced the allegation against the victim. An investigation was carried out by police over the allegation but was dropped due to a lack of evidence.

The victim, in a statement read out to court, said: ‘I thought I was going to die. (The incident) has led me to falling into a blackhole of depression. It was completely unprovoked and unwarranted and has had a significant effect on my life.’

Defence barrister Francisca Da Costa said Barrett, who admitted a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, only turned to violence after the sexual allegation surfaced. ‘He would not have used violence if it was not for what he was told,’ she said.

Judge David Melville KC told Barrett: ‘You completely lost control of yourself. You took the law into your own hands. You thought you could seriously attack someone with a baseball or rounders bat.

‘You got hold of the bat and you set about him and hit him in the face and then handed the bat to your friend who attacked him as well. You had locked the front door so he was effectively a prisoner. You made a mess of him.’

The judge jailed Barrett for 24 months.