Man jailed for controlling and coercive behaviour towards victim

Joe Martin, 28, of Melksham, appeared at Salisbury Crown Court on Monday (17/08) where he pleaded guilty to controlling and coercive behaviour.

He was jailed for nine months and was made subject to a restraining order for five years.

Between 7^th and 18^th February, Martin repeatedly threatened and attempted to control the victim, a woman in her 20s, leaving her in fear that violence would be used against her.

This included finding the victim in a pub in Bath and trying to remove her by grabbing her, locking her in his car and then threatening her and taking her phone to stop her from calling for help, threatening to pay someone to cut off her head, and threatening to deliberately crash the car they were travelling in.

The victim bravely reported the abuse to the police and Martin was arrested, charged and remanded into custody.

A/PS Surgey from our Volume Crime Team said: “Martin’s actions were absolutely awful and have caused significant stress and anxiety to the victim.

“I would like to commend her for her bravery and courage in reporting his behaviour to the police and seeing this through until conviction.

“I hope this sentence provides the victim with the time and space they need to process what happened and begin to heal.

“Targeting and reducing violence against women and girls is a Force priority and we will always act robustly to bring domestic abuse perpetrators before the courts.”

Support organisations for domestic violence victims can be found here: Support organisations for victims of domestic violence | Wiltshire Police