Thug ex-boyfriend of Marnie Clayton, 18, who sparked 48-hour manhunt after going missing is jailed
A VIOLENT ex who was at the centre of a 48-hour manhunt after a teen girl disappeared has been jailed.
Abid Khan, 22, got three years and four months after the judge heard how Marnie Clayton, 18, suffered physical abuse and harassment.
A manhunt started when she vanished from a nightclub in Windsor, Berkshire, while celebrating her 18th in January.
Khan saw her and demanded she give him her new number, which she did out of fear, prosecutors said.
They later got a taxi to a hotel in Southampton and had consensual sex, before he accused her of kissing someone else in the club.
The next day he pushed her face down into the bed. He only let her go when she was going to be sick and kicked her leg.
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Khan then snapped her provisional driver's licence in half and let her send her parents a message from his phone when he was alerted to reports of the manhunt in the national press.
She sent a winking-face emoji in a coded message to say she needed help. Her family discovered she was in Southampton when Mr Khan convinced her to go to Manchester.
They got off at Basingstoke, Hampshire, when they saw police at the train station but were recognised by members of the public, who alerted officers and the manhunt ended.
Ms Clayton, who claimed he threatened to burn her face so she would be unrecognisable, tried to kill herself twice this year as a result, she told Reading Crown Court in a victim impact statement.
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She said: "I had flashbacks of what he did to me and I did not want to be here anymore."
Prosecutor Alexander Upton said that Khan’s behaviour became increasingly controlling and violent after they met in June last year.
He prevented her from seeing friends and repeatedly asked who she was with, when she was with them and regularly threatened to kill her.
And he “used her as a boxing bag” in a hotel on one occasion as well as regularly physically attacking her, Upton said. It included smashing her head against a mirror and punching her.
Judge Amjad Nawaz said: "He knew what he was doing and that it was wrong and he should not do so.
"He was simply unwilling to accept she did not want to be with him.
"He needs to grow up and realise that if he does not, he will be sentenced to imprisonment for longer and longer offences."
Khan admitted putting her in fear of violence by harassment.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
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If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
- Movember,
- Anxiety UK , 03444 775 774 Monday-Friday 9.30am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 10am-8pm