A man has admitted hitting his girlfriend when she confronted him about punching a hole in a door.
Aptly named Jacob Coward, 28, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court today (Monday) where he was sentenced for an offence of assault by beating.
He was also charged with breaching a domestic violence protection order – but the offence was thrown out when Wiltshire Police failed to attend court to prosecute the case for a second time.
Prosecutor Keith Ballinger said the defendant, of Duncan Street, Calne, had been in a relationship with the woman for around three years and lived in rented accommodation together.
She said the relationship had been good until a year into sharing a home – when it started to deteriorate, with regular arguments.
At around 4pm on 25 September this year, a row broke out over whether or not they should inform Coward’s parents about their financial issues – but his girlfriend wished to keep them private.
Later that day, the defendant’s ex-partner arrived to collect his son from a previous relationship. But he began telling her about the financial problems faced.
Upset by this, his girlfriend made a comment to the effect of “does everybody need to know?”, and Coward began throwing items around the house. He smashed a cup before punching a hole in a door.
When she challenged him about the hole he had made in the door, he moved into the garden – where the argument continued. She proceeded to lock the door and told him to sleep outside.
He wanted to come back inside and talk about matters, but this resulted in further arguments. Coward pushed the woman off their bed and she landed on all fours on the floor.
The defendant threw a punch towards her face – stopping his fist a short distance away. He went on to ask: “You’re so f**king scared of me aren’t you?”, before punching her in the arm.
The woman ran to the bathroom and called the police for help. Officers arrived within ten minutes and arrest Coward. In custody, he told the officers that his girlfriend was the aggressor and he was acting in self-defence – but went on to plead guilty in court.
Probation officer Michelle James said that Coward “admits there was inappropriate behaviour towards the [injured party] here that caused physical harm”. She said that he was “more than willing to work with probation” on his issues – including how to deal with difficult situations.
Chief magistrate Clive Lawton said: “One’s home should be a place of safety, not fear.”
He sentenced the traffic management worker to an 18-month community order to include 35 rehabilitation activity days – which may be used for the Building Better Relationships Programme if he’s deemed a suitable candidate.
Coward must also pay a fine of £366, a surcharge of £114 and £85 costs.
