No jail for man who treated partner 'like a rag doll' at caravan park
A man who left his partner fearing for her life when he attacked her at a caravan park has been given a restraining order and banned from drinking for four months.
Thomas Cope, from Walsall, was drunk when he grabbed his partner’s hair and dragged her around, slapped her, pulled the area of a body piercing and grabbed her throat tightly, a court heard.
The incident happened at Happy Days Caravan Park in Towyn, North Wales, where the couple had gone in a bid to patch up their relationship.
A district judge at Llandudno Magistrates Court told 27-year-old Cope, of Beechdale, that “happy days” wasn’t the appropriate description for the holiday and that his victim went through an “extremely unpleasant” ordeal.
His partner feared he was going to kill her, prosecutor Sara Worland said.
Cope admitted assault causing actual bodily harm at Towyn as well as obstructing and resisting police.
His assault victim had bruises and marks.
Defence solicitor Tudur Owen said there were no previous convictions but Cope “lost the plot” on the night.
District Judge Gwyn Jones imposed a six-month suspended jail term and issued a five-year restraining order.
Cope must attend a building better relationships course to understand the impact of domestic abuse and will be tagged under a 120-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.
In addition, Cope has to pay £750 compensation and £213 costs.
Judge Jones told him he’d treated his former partner as if she were a “rag doll,” exerting control and demeaning her.
Holidaymakers in a neighbouring caravan had called the police.
