A construction worker who bit and strangled his ex-partner in two “barbaric” attacks has been jailed for 14 months.
Carl Stewart, 34, from York, pinned the victim down in one of the drink-fuelled attacks before sinking his teeth into her cheek and biting down for about five seconds, York Crown Court heard.
He appeared for sentence today after ultimately admitting two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He denied a further charge of using controlling or coercive behaviour which was allowed to lie on the file.
The prosecution said that strangulation was an aggravating factor in one of the attacks, but Stewart was not ultimately charged with such.
Prosecutor Danielle Gilmour said the first attack occurred on 17 March, 2022, when Stewart bit the named victim on the hand during an argument, causing bleeding.
The second assault happened in July of that year, when the victim ended up lying on the floor, “with Stewart sat on top of her”, following an argument.
Stewart straddled the victim and pinned her down with his knees, then hit her in the face, chest and eye as she screamed out. He then “leaned forward and bit her on the cheek for about five seconds, causing it to bleed”.
She screamed out again, at which point Stewart grabbed her around the throat with both hands and “tightened his grip so that she was struggling to breathe”.
“She said it lasted about five-to-ten seconds, although she remained conscious,” added Ms Gilmour.
“She managed to escape and fled the house with her dog.”
Ms Gilmour said the victim was left with a bloodshot eye and bite marks to her cheek.
‘You throttled her’
In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said the attacks had affected her self-esteem and that she was no longer the outgoing person she used to be.
She said that Stewart’s behaviour would change “when he had alcohol”.
Stewart, of Danesgate, had previous convictions for eight offences including wounding in a bar brawl and battery against different male victims, as well as being drunk and disorderly and drink-driving.
Defence barrister Erin Kitson-Parker said that alcohol was “the catalyst in this case” but Stewart had since abstained from drinking.
She said that Stewart, who worked as a groundworker and foreman for a construction firm in York, would lose his job if he were jailed.
She conceded that the attacks were “horrendous” and that there had been numerous “call-outs” during the relationship due to Stewart’s behaviour, but he was now a “very different man”, had a new partner and was “genuinely sorry for what he has done”.
Judge Sean Morris told Stewart: “It’s quite clear you had an alcohol problem and you assaulted the victim in a nasty way, using your teeth as weapons.”
He described as “barbaric” the bite mark on the victim’s cheek following the second attack, “and then you throttled her, you strangled her”.
Mr Morris added: “You need to know that strangulation is serious for one good reason: it can snuff a life out really, really quickly.”
Stewart was jailed for 14 months but will spend less than half that time behind bars before being released on prison licence.