A controlling boyfriend who banned his girlfriend from going to the toilet alone after wrongly convincing himself she would contact other men has been jailed for a year.
Steven Bethune, 35, from Congleton, Cheshire, even tried to stop Nichola Stephenson from visiting her own son after becoming obsessed with keeping her in his sight. He was arrested after strangling the mother-of-one until she could barely breathe, grabbing hold of her head and banging it against a wall, leaving her with bruising to the face, neck and arms.
At Warrington Magistrates' Court, Bethune was convicted of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation. He was jailed for 12 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.
Prosecutor Michael O'Kane said Bethune and Ms Stephenson had been in a relationship since March this year. He described the relationship as 'turbulent', adding that Bethune would get very drunk and accuse her of cheating, often taking her mobile phone. 'When she needed to go to the toilet he would try to stop her going to the bathroom as he believed she was contacting other people,' Mr O'Kane said.
Last September, Bethune tried to stop Ms Stephenson from seeing her son. Later that night, after she returned, he became violent, grabbing her arms, banging her head against a wall, and strangling her multiple times. Ms Stephenson said she thought he was trying to kill her. She eventually escaped when he fell asleep and contacted police.
Bethune gave no comment in police interview. He had 26 previous offences on his record including assault and public order matters. Defence lawyer Derek McDonald said Bethune had mental health issues and 'things got out of hand', adding that he had no memory of the incident.
