Court hears claims of controlling behaviour, repeated calls and violent incidents during relationship

A MAN accused of a catalogue of controlling, violent and sexual offences has appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where jurors heard evidence of alleged stalking, assaults and rape during a turbulent relationship.

Yogesh Parmar, 35, was arrested on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, after police spotted his vehicle. The court heard Parmar became aggressive during the arrest and had to be restrained and placed in handcuffs in Swansea.

Detective Constable Lauren Williams told the court she conducted a police interview with the defendant on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. She said she reviewed phone records obtained by police which showed a pattern of repeated calls to the complainant made from a withheld number.

DC Williams said the records indicated the complainant received five calls on March 4, 2025, twelve calls on March 8, 2025, and a further thirty-two calls on March 18, 2025.

When questioned about the calls while giving evidence, Parmar accepted he might be responsible, telling the court: “It is possible, yes.”

The jury heard the complainant discovered a second phone while the couple were living at Rosehill Terrace, which she believed showed Parmar was being unfaithful. She later told police that during this period she was allegedly forced into a car and driven somewhere against her will.

Another incident shown to the court included video footage recorded while the couple were driving towards Aberystwyth. In the video, Parmar could be seen revving the engine while the complainant repeatedly asked to put her seatbelt on. Jurors heard she appeared frightened in the footage. Parmar told the court he was “very confused” at the time and said he was “just trying to make sense of the situation”.

The complainant also alleged that while Parmar was living at Mount Pleasant Square, he struck her four times in the face after she believed he had been unfaithful again. She told the court no photographs were taken of her injuries because Parmar was “very possessive” of her phone.

As the trial continued, the complainant became visibly distressed while giving evidence. At 2.43pm, the judge ordered the jury and the complainant to leave the courtroom and reprimanded defence counsel, Mr Leathly, for what was described as a harsh and indirect line of questioning.

Jurors also heard a serious allegation that Parmar raped the complainant on one occasion. She told the court she informed him it was rape, and that approximately twenty minutes later, the assault happened again.

Prepared statements were also read to the court. One, from a close friend of the complainant, said communication with her “faded drastically” while she was in a relationship with Parmar. Another statement described how Parmar approached a work colleague asking to talk about the complainant. The colleague said Parmar “ground me down” until she eventually agreed to speak to the complainant.

Further video evidence was played while Parmar was in the witness box, appearing to show him attempting to gain entry to a property where the complainant was staying. In the footage, a woman could be heard sounding frightened. When asked who she was afraid of, Parmar admitted it was him.

The court also heard Parmar allegedly attended the complainant’s place of work and followed her home while she travelled in an Uber. When asked by the prosecution whether he believed she wanted him to follow her, Parmar replied: “I just wanted to know what was going on.”

During proceedings, defence counsel Mr Leathly referred to the defendant’s character, telling the court: “He is not a man of good character, of course.” The jury has heard Parmar has a previous conviction for stalking, committed between August 16 and November 4, 2022.

The trial continues.

Only 64.3% of patients were seen within four hours in December, as Conservatives accuse Welsh Government of failing to end long waits

PERFORMANCE in Welsh emergency departments has slipped further from the four-hour target, with new NHS figures showing the lowest level for three years.

The latest statistics show that in December, only 64.3% of patients spent less than four hours in emergency departments from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge — far below the 95% target.

The figures also show 10,193 patients waited 12 hours or more in December, despite the target being that no patients should face waits of that length.

The Welsh Conservatives said the overall NHS waiting list remains at 757,866 patient pathways (November), which they described as the equivalent of nearly one in four people in Wales. They also highlighted what they claim is a continuing gap with England, stating that Wales had 6,883 two-year waits for treatment compared with 177 in England.

In a statement, Peter Fox MS, Chair of the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee and the Welsh Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, said: “It is clear that after 27 years of Plaid-backed Labour Governments, our NHS is broken. In some areas, the situation is even deteriorating.”

He claimed ambulance response times, cancer performance and emergency department waits had all worsened, and said the Welsh Conservatives would declare a “health emergency”, increase hospital bed capacity, and roll out rapid diagnostic centres and surgical hubs to improve patient flow and cut waits.

The Welsh Government has previously pointed to recent reductions in the overall waiting list and the longest waits for planned treatment, alongside investment aimed at increasing appointment capacity, including through weekend clinics.

Man convicted at Swansea Crown Court in 2017 has case sent to Court of Appeal

THE CRIMINAL CASES REVIEW COMMISSION has referred a man’s convictions for child sexual offences to the Court of Appeal because new information undermines the credibility and reliability of the complainant’s account.

The man, referred to as Mr HS, was convicted in 2017 at Swansea Crown Court of four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, four counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and three counts of attempted rape of a child under 13.

He was sentenced to an extended sentence of 16 years, comprising 15 years’ imprisonment with an extended licence period of one year.

There was a single complainant who alleged the offences occurred when she was in Mr HS’ company between 2005 and 2010. The complainant was aged five to 11 at the time of the alleged offences, and she disclosed the offences at the age of 15.

The prosecution case relied on evidence from the complainant and from those to whom she had made her disclosures. Mr HS gave evidence in his defence, denying any sexual activity with the complainant, but was convicted.

In March 2018, the Single Judge refused Mr HS permission to appeal against conviction and sentence. He did not renew his application to the Full Court. The CCRC received an application to review the conviction in February 2023.

During its review, the CCRC considered post-trial evidence that could significantly undermine the credibility and reliability of the complainant’s account.

The account given by the complainant at trial was the prosecution’s main evidence in this case. Consequently, the credibility and reliability of this account was, and remains, fundamental to the safety of Mr HS’ convictions.

The CCRC has found that based on this new evidence, there is a real possibility that the convictions will not be upheld and is referring them to the Court of Appeal.

Identities in the CCRC’s media release have been anonymised to protect the identity of the complainant.

The CCRC is an independent body set up under the Criminal Appeal Act 1995. It is responsible for independently reviewing suspected and alleged miscarriages of criminal justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

If a case is referred, it is then for the appeal court to decide whether the conviction is unsafe.

The CCRC has anonymised the defendant in this referral.