A FISHERMAN has been found not guilty of coercive control and strangling his girlfriend.
Oscar Allen, 22, of The Ridgeway in Penally, was on trial at Swansea Crown Court charged with a series of offences against his now ex-partner.
It was alleged that he isolated her from her friends and her family, monitored her phone and social media, deleted sentimental photographs from her phone, controlled where she was able to go, and threatened to kill any future partners that she had.
He was also charged of three offences of strangulation between June and September last year.
Allen denied each of these charges.
After less than three hours of deliberations, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on each charge.
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Allen had previously pleaded guilty to criminal damage, after he had kicked his ex-partner’s washing machine and damaged her phone on March 8 after she ended the relationship.
A term of Allen’s bail was that he was subject to a curfew between 7pm and 4am – which he breached on July 12, prosecutor David Singh said.
Following this breach, officers attended Allen’s address at just after 3am on July 17 and arrested him.
They allowed the defendant to get dressed, but he “jumped headlong out of a window”, prosecutor David Singh said.
The defendant was found around 40 minutes later. He asked the officers to adjust his handcuffs, and then attempted, unsuccessfully, to make another escape.
The court heard that Allen had breached his curfew due to his fishing ship suffering engine failure.
James Hartson, in mitigation, said Allen’s actions were “born out of a sense of panic” rather than a genuine attempt to evade capture.
Addressing Allen, Judge Huw Rees said: “You are 22 years of age. I hope you have learnt from this experience that losing your temper in front of a woman is not a gentlemanly thing to do.
“You do not need to scar your prospects by coming back to this court ever again.
“I think that you have learnt from this experience.”
Allen was sentenced to four months for escaping lawful custody and one month, running concurrently, for damaging his electronic tag. He was fined £200 and was ordered to pay £269 in compensation for the damage to his ex-partner’s property.
Mr Hartson said that Allen had already served the equivalent of a 10-month sentence in custody and on curfew ahead of the trial. Because of this, he will be released immediately.
Judge Rees thanked the jury for the consideration they gave the case.
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