'Hero' of Southport stabbings attacked pregnant partner in front of baby, court hears
A man hailed as a hero in last summer's Southport stabbings has appeared in court for assaulting his pregnant partner.
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Joel Verite, 27, had been on his lunch break in Hart Street on the day Axel Rudakubana carried out his horrific attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop, murdering three young girls.
The window cleaner ran into the dance studio to help the killer's injured victims and "locked eyes" with the 18-year-old knifeman, who also wounded eight other children and two adults during the stabbing spree.
A year on, Verite admitted to assaulting his partner Freya Aughton-Rimmer in the presence of his baby daughter at Liverpool Magistrates Court.
Verite, who is believed to have been suffering from PTSD following last summer's traumatic events, carried out the assault after finding out he had been cropped out of a photograph, the court was told.
Sarah McInerney, representing the Crown Prosecution Service said the pair had been in an 'on-off' relationship for around a year when an argument broke out about the image.
Verite then followed his victim into the kitchen and asked is she was "in a mood" while she was feeding her first-born child Weetabix, the court heard.
While shouting and swearing, he then hit the bowl out of her hands, spilling the contents "up the wall", Ms McInerney told the court.
Ms Aughton-Rimmer asked him to leave the property and went upstairs, but he refused and followed her.
He then asked if he could see his child before pushing her in the back, causing her to fall to the ground.
Following the incident, Ms Aughton-Rimmer called Verite's mother to come and get in.
Verite admitted to common assault and criminal damage, but denied assault by beating, the Liverpool Echo reported.
He avoided a jail sentence after the judge accepted his actions were reckless and not intended to cause harm.
Speaking directly to Vertie, the judge said: "I would have thought going through the dreadful experiences you had would make you less likely to use violence."
Ms McInerney told the court the offences were aggravated by the fact it occurred in the presence of a child, in a domestic context, and while the victim was pregnant.
Verite received an 18 month suspended sentence for criminal damage, common assault and two counts of assault by beating.
He was also ordered to pay £504 in court costs, complete 25 days of rehabilitation and carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.