A man bit his girlfriend and strangled her until she nearly passed out – but told the police that she sustained the injuries during consensual rough sex.
Following a trial, 34-year-old Jake Wheeler, of Bradenstoke, was found guilty of two assaults on the woman in her own home in Royal Wootton Bassett on 3 July last year.
The defendant got angry during an argument and threatened to share her private intimate videos with other people. As a result, the victim grabbed his phone in a bid to delete them.
But Wheeler pinned her to the sofa and strangled her before biting her face and arm. He later carried out a second attack – strangling her more forcefully than the first time.
Kate Prince, prosecuting, yesterday (7 June) told Swindon Magistrates’ Court that Wheeler’s victim was “very distressed” and “struggling to breathe” during the incident.
She said this then-girlfriend “felt like she was going to pass out”, but the defendant let go of her throat before she lost consciousness – to grab his phone, which she dropped during the attack.
The woman was left with a bite mark on her lower left jaw, bruising to her upper arm from a bite and red marks to the sides of her neck from the strangulation.
The defendant failed to comply with the probation service to compile a pre-sentence report following his conviction and as a result, he spent approximately a month remanded in prison.
Defending, Liz Highams said her client has “accepted now that he is guilty of these offences”.
She told the court that Wheeler, who has no previous convictions, has had no contact with the victim since this incident – when the relationship ended.
Ms Highams said he “accepted that his behaviour needs work”, adding that a building better relationships programme will be useful to him, to move forward and put this conviction behind him.
She said is currently out of work but hopes to return to work as a “postman” in the near future.
Magistrates imposed a 24-month community order with the requirement to complete a building better relationships programme and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
They also told Wheeler to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, pay £620 prosecution costs and pay a £95 surcharge.
A 12-month restraining order, prohibiting him from contacting his victim directly or indirectly, was also imposed.
