Crawley domestic abuser Paul Upfold jailed for coercive control

Paul Upfold was seen by his children trying to undermine his partner after she took them to safety in Crawley.

The “obsessive” 36-year-old wanted access to all her social media accounts and finances.

He belittled her over the bills, despite his own gambling problem.

Then while she was at work, Upfold made demands for her to undress for him and threatened to reveal private sex photographs of her.

It was revealed he later tried to interfere with a police investigation into his coercive and controlling behaviour by sending an email from her account to the force, falsely claiming she wanted to drop charges.

When police turned up over a disturbance, Upfold ran off because he didn’t want his children to see him being arrested.

At Lewes Crown Court, Upfold admitted coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking, assault, harassment, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Her Honour Judge Janet Waddicor said his behaviour was “domineering”, “manipulative” and “obsessive”.

She jailed Upfold for two years and six months.

Lewes Crown Court.

Edward Hand, prosecuting, said the abuse was exposed in an incident on January 28 this year, when the woman, who The Argus has chosen not to name, wanted to visit her mother with her children.

Upfold told her: “You are not going f****** anywhere.”

Then she tried to leave by herself and Upfold told his children that she wanted to leave them.

But he grabbed her and stopped her from leaving. When she tried to call her mother to ask her to phone the police, he pushed open the bathroom door.

Mr Hand said Upfold had shown “paranoid, jealous behaviour” through their relationship, and needed almost daily reassurance about her commitment to the relationship.

Upfold has previous convictions for harassment against another woman in 2010 and 2011, it was revealed.

In a statement the woman said: “He caused me huge distress. I won’t answer the phone because I’m worried it could be him.

“He continues to flout the rules, I want justice for what he has done to me.”

Paul Upfold was jailed for coercive and controlling behaviour and stalking in Crawley

Eleanor Lucas, defending, said Upfold had witnessed traumatic domestic abuse as a child.

He has struggled with work during the pandemic, and wants to start an estate agency business.

She said: “Mr Upfold has shown a lack of understanding of just how problematic his behaviour is.

“He desperately needs assistance tackling these patterns of behaviour and to develop his thinking skills which are clearly lacking.”

She asked for a suspended sentence with rehabilitation sessions to address these concerns, but Judge Waddicor said the behaviour had left the woman frightened of him.

It was revealed Upfold, formerly of Chiltern Close, Crawley, wrote a letter from prison to the mother and children.

He is now behind bars.

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