A young city father has been cleared of attacking his girlfriend after telling a jury she was beaten up by heroin users when a drug deal went wrong.
Jason Davenport was found not guilty after claiming alleged victim Jolene Bruce concocted her story about being attacked by him in a bid to jump the council housing queue by being classified as a victim of domestic abuse.
He said she had lied to her doctor about how she suffered an injury to her mouth so she could gain more points and improve her chances of getting her own council house.
Davenport denied being an abusive boyfriend and said Jolene had told other lies in her attempts to get re-housed.
The prosecution alleged he hurled her into an empty bath tub and hit her in the face during a violent argument at his mother's home in Exeter where they were both living last year.
Davenport, aged 22, of Wykes Road, Exeter, denied causing actual bodily harm and was found not guilty at Exeter Crown Court.
He was cleared after telling the jury Miss Bruce had lied about the attack to both her doctor and the police.
He said she moved back into his mother's house after becoming homeless at a time when they were both using heroin.
He claimed she had been attacked and robbed after going out to sell nine bags of heroin worth £90 stolen, leaving them with a debt to their own suppliers.
He denied hitting her at any time during their five year relationship and said: "We had verbal arguments in the past but the only time it got physical it was on her side. She has thrown an ash tray and more at me.
"She is a compulsive liar. She lies about where she goes. She always lies about everything. She said she was going to tell the doctor I attacked her because she wanted to get priority for housing."
