A DOMESTIC abuse charity has criticised the sentence given to a man who kept his partner prisoner in her own home and beat her for 10 hours.

On Monday, Marc Long jailed for three years for assaulting his then-girlfriend and preventing her from escaping the violence that she had to endure.

Now, The Hampton Trust, which runs courses for people who are at risk of committing, or have already committed abuse, has criticised the sentence for being “completely unacceptable”.

Chief executive Chantal Hughes said: “The sentence that Long has received for this appalling crime is completely unacceptable. Given the violence and psychological nature of the incident, I have no doubt that the victim will be left with lifelong trauma as she tries to rebuild her life.

“The Sentencing Council published revised guidelines on domestic abuse in February 2018 to ensure domestic offences are treated more seriously because they represent a 'violation of trust and security' normally associated with intimate or family relationships.

“We rely on our criminal justice system to take domestic abuse crimes seriously. This victim was kidnapped in her own home and subjected to hours of repeated and life-threatening violence.

“I am in no doubt that victim and her family are struggling to comprehend how the judge thought it appropriate to sentence Long to 3 years. There is a wider impact, and we need tougher sentences to demonstrate a zero tolerance to domestic abuse in society. This sends out completely the wrong message.

“Sadly, we have another victim who has been let down by a criminal justice system that is not taking domestic abuse crime seriously enough, reflected in such a lenient sentence. She will be managing her trauma and still trying to rebuild her life way beyond Long’s 3-year sentence.”

The Hampton Trust, based in Hampshire, was founded in 1996 to deliver domestic violence perpetrator programmes within the criminal justice system.