A violent thug who battered the mother of his children over several hours cruelly asked her, 'Why did you make me do this to you?' Mark Shiels, 33, of Prescot Road in St Helens, was already banned from contacting his then-girlfriend when he subjected her to the horrific attack.
The ordeal left her suffering from vivid nightmares of him attacking her. She had previously missed her own daughter's 18th birthday party after he gave her a black eye. In a victim impact statement read to Liverpool Crown Court, she said: 'I don't think I will ever be the same again. It will take me many years to recover, if ever.'
The Attack
On November 22 last year, the woman arrived at Shiels' flat and was immediately met with aggression. He demanded to know where she had been and inspected a scratch on her neck with a torch. After calming down briefly, they drank together. When she later found him talking to police outside, he shouted 'why are you a grass?' and followed her inside.
Shiels then punched her, causing her lip to burst, and kicked her repeatedly, leaving bruising and swelling. Despite her screams for him to stop, he continued pulling her back into the flat whenever she tried to leave. In the communal hallway, he elbowed her in the face, causing bruises around her eye.
Later, at a neighbor's flat, she fell asleep but was woken by Shiels striking her again. Back at his apartment, he pushed her inside, snapped her phone in half, smashed the screen, threw her onto the bed, pinned her down, and hit her again while asking, 'Why did you make me do this to you?' He eventually let her leave, and she called police from a phone box.
Victim's Trauma
In her statement, the woman detailed how she had missed her older daughter's 18th birthday a month earlier due to another assault that left her with a black eye. She said: 'I have nightmares due to what he's put me through. I've been waking up crying because I have vivid nightmares of him attacking me. This has had a massive impact on all four of my children.'
She added: 'I'm so traumatised I even get scared when I see people with red hair, because it makes me think of him. I don't think I will ever be the same again. It will take me many years to recover, if ever.'
Shiels' Criminal History
Shiels has 17 previous convictions for 23 offences, including wounding with intent in 2009 (three years and three months) and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2012 (122 days). Earlier in 2025, he was jailed for six weeks and handed a restraining order for two battery offences against the same victim.
Defense and Sentencing
Anna Duke, defending, said Shiels pleaded guilty on the day of trial and had used his time in custody well, finding a job and completing relationship courses. She urged the judge to impose a sentence that 'allows light at the end of the tunnel.'
Shiels admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage, and breaching a restraining order. Recorder Ben Lawrence jailed him for 43 months with an additional 17-month licence period, noting the prolonged and persistent assault occurred while a restraining order was in place. He said: 'If the maximum sentence were longer than five years, I would have imposed a longer extended licence period.'
Shiels must serve at least two-thirds of the 43-month term before release. He was also handed a new 10-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim.
