A woman was locked inside her own home without a mobile phone for up to six hours, and had to shout out of her window to get a neighbour's attention, after her former partner trapped her inside. Daniel Green, 35, of Martin Street, Morriston, has now been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault of an emergency worker and false imprisonment.
Attack and imprisonment
Swansea Crown Court heard how Green and his former partner Rachel Nelson had been in a relationship for approximately two years. Despite an order preventing the pair from seeing one another, in July Green contacted Ms Nelson and asked whether he could attend her address and come to stay with her.
Hannah George, prosecuting, detailed how on July 5 Green went through Ms Nelson's phone and found a message from another man on social media. He was paranoid and accused her of being unfaithful, which Ms George said was a "common theme" of their relationship. Green used an electric fan to hit her on her face and punched her nose causing it to bleed. She asked him to leave but he refused and continued to stay at her address.
Locked inside for hours
Three days later, on July 8, Green was intoxicated and Ms Nelson described him as being "on a different planet". Green was still paranoid that Ms Nelson was unfaithful towards him and he began screaming at her. In the early hours of the morning she tried to leave but he didn't let her. Instead he locked the bathroom doors and took her mobile phone. She managed to climb out of the downstairs window but when he realised he grabbed her by the arm and brought her back in.
Later that evening her neighbour saw her open the window and shout for help, and they subsequently phoned the police. When they arrived at the address, she could be seen in the top window asking for help and explaining that she was locked in. She had been locked inside for four to six hours.
Assault on police officer
Green was arrested but refused to walk to the police vehicle, instead asking for alcohol. As he did then head towards the vehicle he headbutted a police officer and kicked out at her.
In a victim impact statement summarised by Ms George, Ms Nelson said she wakes up in cold sweats and has nightmares on a daily basis as a result of what happened with her former partner. She also said she suffers from extreme anxiety attacks when she leaves the house and needs help doing normal daily tasks because of these. Ms Nelson added that she now lives in terror and fear. "I never wanted any of this to happen, all I wanted from Daniel was his love," she said.
Sentencing
The court heard that Green had committed 10 previous offences and had relevant previous convictions from a domestic context. Alycia Carpanini, representing Green, told the court her client was alcohol dependent at the time and was drinking 15 cans of beer a day and a large number of vodka drinks. She described the couple's relationship as being "of a toxic nature".
Ms Carpanini added: "He was fully aware he wasn't meant to be at the property. Both of them couldn't keep away from each other at that period of time." She said Green had told her he'd lost the best thing that ever happened to him and was apologetic for what he had done. In mitigation, she added that he suffers from a number of mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, and said that although he had an antecedent record he has last been before the courts in 2015.
Judge Catherine Richards sentenced Green to a total of three years in prison, with a lead offence of false imprisonment.
