Robin Griffiths, a former soldier, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for assaulting and strangling a cancer patient, then taking her car and drink-driving. The 34-year-old, of Long Vue Road, Sandfields, Port Talbot, was also banned from driving for four years and nine months.
Attack on vulnerable woman
Swansea Crown Court heard that the complainant, a woman in her 50s with stage-four cancer, was described by those who knew her as "very frail and weak". On the evening of July 17, she met Griffiths at the Ambassador Hotel in Neath town centre. The two had previously communicated via social media but not recently.
During their conversation, Griffiths told the woman he had been in a car crash and showed her a "sizeable round graze" on his back. She offered to dress the wound, and they went to her home in the Melin area of Neath. There, Griffiths showered and had his graze dressed. They chatted until the early hours, when the woman went to bed, leaving Griffiths in the kitchen with a bottle of vodka. When she woke at 11am, he was still there with the empty bottle.
The pair then went out in the woman's Toyota car, with Griffiths driving, before returning with another bottle of vodka, which he began to consume. His demeanour changed, and he began asking if she "trusted" him. He then pushed her into a wardrobe and butted her. When she came to, she was on the floor with Griffiths kneeling on her chest, near the medical port where she received chemotherapy. He shouted "Look at me! Look at me!" before grabbing her throat.
Police chase and arrest
The woman went to sit in her car, thinking she would be safer in view of neighbours, but Griffiths dragged her out and drove off. She sent him multiple texts asking for the car's return, but they went unanswered. The next day, police received calls about a Toyota being driven erratically, with the driver "with his head and shoulders out of the window".
Police found the car parked on the B4242 near Glynneath, with Griffiths at the wheel. He was verbally abusive, refused a breathalyser test, and spat at an officer, some spittle landing on his glasses. A later evidential test showed 56mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath; the legal limit is 35mg.
The woman suffered extensive bruising, and the attack set back her health condition and left her questioning whether she could trust people again.
Previous convictions and sentencing
Griffiths pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, intentional strangulation, driving with excess alcohol, driving without insurance, and assaulting an emergency worker. He has seven previous convictions for 10 offences, including drink-driving, failing to provide a specimen, and assault. In 2021, he received a two-year suspended sentence for assault and possession of an imitation firearm. In 2022, he was imprisoned for assaulting a police officer.
His barrister, Byron Broadstock, said Griffiths joined the Army at 18, served with the Royal Welsh in Afghanistan, and was medically discharged with PTSD in 2016. He said Griffiths had engaged with veterans organisations but "found it very difficult to find his place in world". After his last release, he had no stable accommodation or employment and turned to drink and drugs.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said the complainant had shown Griffiths only kindness, which he repaid with a brutal assault. With one-third discounts for guilty pleas, Griffiths was sentenced to 18 months. He will serve 40 per cent in custody before release on licence.
