Tax cheat jailed for sledgehammer attack

Dylan McNulty was jailed for a string of offences including tax fraud

A man who hit a rival with a sledgehammer and smashed a bottle over his head as part of a feud has been jailed.

Dylan McNulty took the victim against his will to a flat where he was attacked by several men in October 2023, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The 27-year-old from Peterlee, County Durham, admitted wounding with intent and being involved in a tax fraud in which he sought to cheat about £20,000 out of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

He was also sentenced for making sexual advances towards a teenage girl then attacking her parents after they remonstrated with him, with Judge Julie Clemitson jailing him for four years and three months.

'Fractured hand'

Judge Clemitson said father-of-one McNulty was carrying out the orders of another man when he and an accomplice went to his victim's home on 17 October and ordered him to get in his car.

He then drove the man "against his will" to another house where he was attacked by multiple people, the judge said.

During the attack, McNulty, of Hatfield Place, hit the man twice over the head with a smashed bottle and struck him in the side with a sledgehammer.

Judge Clemitson said the man genuinely believed he would be killed and it was "fortunate" his injuries only consisted of fractured bones in his hands.

Three days later, police found McNulty passed out in his car with a machete in the passenger footwell, the court heard.

'Family terrified'

In July 2023, McNulty was drunk when he confronted a 14-year-old girl walking home alone from a park, the court heard.

He grabbed his groin and made the movements of a sex act, causing the girl to flee in fear.

Her parents confronted McNulty who pulled out a knife then attacked their car, slashing a tyre and smashing a wing mirror.

Judge Clemitson said the whole family had been "terrified" and the girl was "significantly affected".

She needed counselling to help her sleep, had to change schools and remained scared of going out on her own, the judge said, while her parents believed one of them was going to be killed during the ordeal.

McNulty was also sentenced for a tax fraud which began in 2017 during which he and others submitting false self-assessment claims in a bid to get a rebate.

He applied for about £20,000 worth of rebates and was paid £14,500, the court heard, with much of the money being passed on to other criminals to help pay off debts McNulty had accrued.

In mitigation, the judge said McNulty, who had multiple convictions for violence, had had a traumatic childhood.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.