IN A HARROWING court hearing this week, a woman expressed her terror of experiencing further violence from a man who was recently convicted of assaulting her on two occasions.

Reading out a victim impact statement at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, the woman disclosed, “The abuse I’ve suffered has really affected me.

“I’m scared to go out of the house because of him, and I’m petrified of further violence from him.

“But I know that it will come.”

Jeremiah Jones, a resident of Montgomery Close, Monkton, Pembroke, has been sentenced to a community order by Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court after being found guilty of assault and harassment charges.

Jones, 42, pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating.

On August 18, 2022, he assaulted a woman known to him, causing physical harm.

Just two days later, on August 20, he committed the same offence against her.

Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan highlighted the severity of the incidents, stating that he forcefully slapped the victim’s face, followed by punching and pushing her thigh, resulting in visible bruising.

In addition to the assault charges, Jones was also charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behavior in an intimate relationship.

Between March 1, 2022, and August 20, 2022, he continuously monitored the victim’s movements, drove past her workplace, and exhibited behavior that had a serious detrimental effect on her emotional well-being.

During the court proceedings, Tom Lloyd, Jones’ legal representative, shed light on the circumstances surrounding the offences. Jones had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol, approximately eight pints of lager, after a day of work, leading to a heated argument about the victim’s friendship with another woman.

Lloyd emphasised that Jones had lost everything as a result of his actions.

Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court handed down a 12-month community order, involving 100 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation requirement days for Jones.

Additionally, he was ordered to pay £200 in compensation to the victim, along with £150 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge. Magistrates also imposed a two-year restraining order, prohibiting any form of direct or indirect contact with the victim, except through authorised third parties such as solicitors or social services representatives when seeking access to their children.

In a separate charge of harassment without violence, Jones pleaded guilty to pursuing a course of conduct amounting to the harassment of the same woman known to him.

The incidents involved monitoring her movements, following her, driving past her workplace, and pestering her via social media. The court took into account

Jones’ guilty plea and incorporated the charges into the community order, which courts say aim to rehabilitate the offender while ensuring the safety and protection of the victim.