On Air Now

Richard Simister

6:00pm - 10:00pm

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Violent Scarborough Abuser Has Jail Sentence Increased

A Scarborough man who subjected a woman to years of violence and fear has had his jail sentence increased.

Last year, Macauley Barry Robert Nesfield, 28, from Eastfield was jailed for two years and three months.

This week (26 February 2025) the Court of Appeal agreed that that sentence was unduly lenient and increased it to three years' imprisonment.

North Yorkshire Police’s Witness Care Unit instigated the appeal following the original sentence imposed on 4 December 2024 when he was also issued with a five-year restraining order. The case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General after she considered the sentence to be unduly lenient.

Nesfield subjected the woman to years of fear and violence by controlling her, hitting and punching her, and manipulating situations to control her.

She was too scared to tell anyone but after Nesfield punched her in the head in front of a small child, causing it to split open and cover her and her baby in blood, she sought help from relatives who called the police.

Since his arrest in July 2024, Nesfield has been remanded in custody.

He pleaded guilty in October to coercive controlling behaviour, assault and wounding. The offences took place between 2021 and 2024.

A number of other offences including six counts of assault, one of intentional strangulation, and one of criminal damage are allowed to remain on file.

At the time of the original sentencing hearing, Investigating officer, Detective Constable Kelly Sharp of Scarborough’s Safeguarding Investigation Team, said: 

“Nesfield is a violent and manipulating danger to women. The victim in this case, like most people who are subjected to domestic abuse, was too petrified to come forward to report him to the police.

“She lived in fear and was controlled and manipulated by him for many years. Thankfully he is now behind bars and I hope she is able to now live in peace knowing that he cannot harm her."

Following the uplift in sentence, DC Sharp added: 

"I’m pleased that the Court of Appeal agreed that the original sentence was unduly lenient. Domestic abuse and violence against women and girls is a serious threat to our society and today’s outcome sends a clear message that we will do everything in our power to ensure offenders are taken off the streets for as long as possible.”

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from Yorkshire Coast News

Comments

Add a comment

Log in to the club or enter your details below.

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Sunny intervals

    High: 7°C | Low: 1°C

  • Filey

    Sunny intervals

    High: 7°C | Low: 1°C

  • Whitby

    Medium-level cloud

    High: 7°C | Low: 0°C

  • Bridlington

    Sunny intervals

    High: 7°C | Low: 0°C

  • Hornsea

    Sunny intervals

    High: 7°C | Low: 0°C

  • Driffield

    Sunny intervals

    High: 8°C | Low: 0°C

News