EXCLUSIVE My evil boyfriend kept me awake for four days, hit me and drove me into traffic. He even faked letters from social services accusing me of neglect. Now he's being released just 10 months into his sentence and I'm terrified for my children's safety
A mother-of-three has slammed the early release of her former abusive partner who controlled her life for 14 years.
Evil Kevin Jones, 43, isolated Lucy Buxton from friends and family, banned her from wearing revealing clothes, checked her phone constantly and even stopped her from getting her hair cut.
In March last year, after he drove their car into a main road, barely missing oncoming traffic, he was jailed for 3.5 years for driving a motor vehicle dangerously and harassment to put a person in fear of violence. He was also handed a life-long restraining order.
Yet, the thug will be released in August this year. Just ten months into his sentence.
Lucy, 35, from Derby, is terrified Jones will seek revenge and hurt her and their children.
With the Labour government's plans to free criminals recalled to custody after 28 days to prevent overcrowding prisons, Lucy feels completely let down.
She says: 'When I got to call a few weeks ago from the probation service, telling me Kev was due to be released early, I burst into tears.
'Ten months for a three -and- a- half year sentence? Is that all I was worth?
'I've had no time to heal, no time to recover and barely enough time to start enjoying my life without looking over my shoulder.
'Kevin abused me for 14 years and me and my children get just 10 months of freedom.
'He comes out of prison and we go back into one.
'The fear he will find us and hurt us is crippling.
'Where are our rights, our freedom? He can't be rehabilitated after that time, if ever.
'Hearing of Labour's plans makes me sick to my stomach.
'It's no deterrent for dangerous offenders like Kevin.
'Before we know it, abusers won't be monitored at all, meaning we'll be at extreme risk.
'It'll mean more women will die.
'The government will have blood on their hands.
'I'm disgusted. There's no justice.'
Lucy, started dating Jones in 2010 after meeting during a night out.
A few months later, they were living together.
Almost straight away, he began to control her.
Used to going out partying with her friends, Jones soon insisted on joining them.
Lucy says: 'One morning, I noticed some money missing.
'£100 had been withdrawn from my account.
'When I confronted Kev, he told me "We're together now, it's our money".
'My first serious relationship, I thought it was normal.'
Yet, the following year, when Lucy fell pregnant, Jones started drinking heavily.
One night, at seven months gone, he returned home, drunk.
When Lucy complained, he balled his hand into a fist.
She remembers: 'I was terrified and cowered in the corner as he shouted at me.'
Then, on New Year's Eve that year, Jones flipped again after Lucy complained he'd forgotten to put the bedding in the dryer.
He lunged at her and punched a kitchen cupboard above her head.
After their eldest son arrived in February 2012, Jones didn't lift a finger.
Instead, he spent most nights in the pub.
Lucy says: 'While I did all the childcare, he hated the attention I gave our baby.
'And when our second son was born in January 2013, if I asked him for help, he'd tell me to 'Get on with it'.'
Soon after Lucy discovered Jones had a gambling problem.
He'd whittled hundreds of pounds away on slot machines and horse races.
Then Jones began dictating what Lucy wore.
She explains: 'If anything was too revealing he'd question it. Tell me I looked silly.
'Soon after, he began checking my phone messages daily.
'Made me sit for hours while he read each one out loud.
'It was exhausting.'
When their youngest boy was born in 2018, Lucy claims she was barely surviving.
Many times, she attempted to end the relationship.
She would escape to her mum's, who lived down the street.
Yet Jones always wormed his way back in.
Lucy says: 'One day, I told him to leave.
'He did, but he snuck back into the house in the middle of night, woke me up and said 'Just remember I can get to you anywhere'.
'His threats horrified me. I didn't feel safe in my own home.
'After that, my family begged me to leave.
'But I'd made peace with myself that the only way I'd get out of the relationship was if one of us died.'
Months later, Lucy received an email supposedly from social services, telling her she was being investigated for child neglect.
But the letter was full of spelling and grammatical errors.
Lucy says: 'I quickly realised it was fake.
'Knew Kev was behind it.'
Eventually, Jones was in so much debt, Lucy struggled to pay the rent each month.
Three years passed and in July 2021, Lucy's sister gifted her a birthday voucher to get her hair done.
She remembers: 'Back at home, after cutting it just a few inches, Kev went berserk.
'Told me I looked ridiculous and didn't talk to me for days.
'Made any confidence I had left, vanish.'
Then, in September 2023, while their kids were at school, Lucy found drugs in her bedroom.
As she went to flush them down the toilet, Jones appeared.
She remembers: 'He pinned me against the wall and kneed me in the chest, winding me.
'He shouted at me to drop it. Unable to breathe, I did.
'That night, Kev refused to let me sleep.
'Pestered me to give him money.
'For four days, he kept me awake.
'Even threatened to get me sectioned.
'By this point, I was so sleep deprived I could barely function.'
The following year, in March 2024, Jones returned from an all-night bender.
After he accused Lucy of cheating, he locked the doors, putting the keys in his pocket.
For hours, while the kids tried to sleep, he ranted, checked Lucy's phone and refused to let her sleep.
The next morning, after dropping the boys at school, Jones drove at 100mph back home.
Lucy recalls: 'When I begged him to slow down, he punched me in the face.
'Started ranting that I was having an affair.
'Moments later, he pulled up on pavement and I fled.
'Kev gave chase and grabbed me by my hood.
'He threatened to kidnap our boys and that I'd never see them again.'
Terrified, Lucy agreed to get back into the car.
Minutes later they arrived home.
Yet he teared away in the car again.
Lucy says: 'I went out the front door and heard tyres screeching.
'Suddenly, Kev appeared and drove the car straight at me.
'I froze as he stopped, inches from my legs.'
Then Jones ordered Lucy back into the car.
She says: 'I was hysterical and asked Kev 'When will it end?'
'He laughed manically and replied 'When you're not alive anymore'.
'At that point, I knew he'd kill me.'
Moments later, Jones sped towards a busy dual carriageway into traffic.
Miraculously, nothing hit them.
Coming to a halt, Jones threw Lucy's phone and keys at her.
She managed to flee and called her mum, before collecting her sons from school.
Lucy called the police and Jones was arrested and remanded.
She says: 'Before I gave my statement at the station, I told the officer 'Let me say sorry to him'.
'After all he'd done, he still had a hold over me.'
In October 2024, Jones pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle dangerously and harassment to put a person in fear of violence.
With her hair cut into a bob, Lucy bravely attended his sentencing.
She says: 'I wanted him to know he didn't control me anymore.
'I read my victim impact statement, bravely staring him down.
'Finally have my voice and freedom back and I'm going to use it to help others.
'With those who are still in domestic abuse relationships, the new plans won't give them any confidence to come forward and report their abusers.
'They already feel like there's no help and Labour are cutting off any shred of hope they may have had.
'It's beyond comprehension and makes me so sad at the state of our justice system.'
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