Swansea man beat partner like 'rag doll' after she refused to sleep with him

A man subjected his partner to a brutal and sustained beating after she turned down his request to sleep with him on his birthday, a court has heard.

Jamie Huxtable's victim suffered a seizure following the assault and spent time in a hospital intensive care unit.Sentencing Huxtable to seven years in prison, a judge told him he treated the woman like a "rag doll" and had then had the gall to claim she was the aggressor and he was the victim.

In a statement to the court the woman said she relives what happened to her "almost every day".Swansea Crown Court heard the 42-year-old defendant and the victim were in an "on/off relationship" at the time of the assault, which took place in September last year at the woman's home in the Cadle area of Swansea.

Huxtable launched a brutal assault on the woman which included beating her with a number of household objects, biting her, and strangling her.

The victim – who is epileptic and who was described in court has being "very vulnerable and physically weak" – subsequently suffered a seizure and had to receive hospital treatment.In an impact statement, which was read to the court by prosecutor Georgia Donohue, the victim said when she came around from "the coma" she was "afraid and confused".

She said she feels anxious and depressed and and has only recently been able go back to live at her home address where the assault took place and relives the ordeal "almost every day".Jamie Huxtable, of Caerphilly Avenue, Bonymaen, Swansea had previously been found guilty by a jury of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and strangulation.James McKenna, defending, said Huxtable's life had been "utterly blighted" by his use of Class A drugs which had led to him a "revolving door" of committing crimes to feed the habit.

He said his client wanted to do the 12-Step addiction programme while at HMP Swansea but there was a "substantial waiting list" for the course and he said while being held on remand the defendant had found work in the prison's public canteen.Judge Geraint Walters said on the night of the attack both parties had consumed much drink and drugs and, on the evidence he had heard, it seemed that when the defendant's request for sex had been turned down he had "lost it".

The judge said it could not be established on the evidence whether the assault had been a direct cause of the woman's seizure but in his view the assault "contributed to her decline".Huxtable was sentenced to seven years in prison comprising seven years for the GBH and two years for the strangulation to run concurrently.

The judge activated the full four months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence and ordered it to run concurrently with the seven years. The defendant was made the subject of an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting his victim.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...