An assault case has finally been resolved after a seven-year wait for ‘justice’ for an incident reported the day after it happened in 2016. 

Robert Long, now 23, appeared in Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday (July 21, 2023) to answer allegations made by his ex-girlfriend about an altercation when he was 17. 

The delay in the case was not explained, other than to say that it had been reviewed several times. 

Long pleaded guilty to common assault, admitting that he pushed his girlfriend of two-months out of a car on March 12, 2016. 

The victim alleged that Long assaulted her and locked her inside his home for hours after an argument over money, claiming that she was “crying, screaming and banging on window” while attempting to escape. 

However, Long dismissed her claims as lies and insisted that “all I did was push her out of the car”. 

Long pleaded guilty to common assault on the basis on the basis that he pushed her out of the car. The Crown Prosecution Service accepted his version of events. 

He also pleaded guilty to criminal damage as he damaged her iPhone on the same day. 

Long, a tree surgeon, told the court: “Since that happened I’ve moved away from the borough. I’ve got a child, I’ve sorted myself out. I was young back then, do you know what I mean?” 

He was ordered to pay compensation to the victim and costs, which totaled £692.