Controlling boyfriend banned woman from going to toilet alone 'incase she rang other men'
A jealous boyfriend who banned his girlfriend from going to the toilet alone in case she phoned other men has been jailed.
Steven Bethune, from Congleton, Cheshire, even tried to stop Nichola Stephenson from visiting her own son as he was obsessed with keeping her in his sight.
He was arrested after strangling the mum-of-one until she could barely breathe, grabbing hold of her head and banging it against a wall, leaving her with bruising to the face, neck and arms.
Bethune, 35, was convicted of engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation.
Warrington Magistrates Court heard how Bethune and Ms Stephenson had been in a relationship since March this year, with the defendant's then-girlfriend describing their time together as "turbulent".
"She thinks that he is an intelligent man with stimulating conversation though he could be sporadically impulsive," said prosecutor Michael O'Kane.
"She reports that the defendant would get very drunk and the relationship deteriorated gradually due to his increasingly erratic behaviour.
"He can be jealous and he was accusing her of cheating on him with other people and would often take her mobile phone away.
"When she needed to go to the toilet he would try to stop her going to the bathroom as he believed she was contacting other people."
Last September, Bethune tried to stop Ms Stephenson from seeing her son, but eventually let her go and became "very drunk" after she left, Mr O'Kane said.
They later spoke on the phone, and the defendant was in such a bad state that his partner had to ask a stranger where he was to arrange a taxi to take him back to his home.
She said he seemed "like a zombie" and thought it would be best for Bethune to sleep it off, but he became "extremely belligerent and agitated and would not let her go to the toilet", the court heard.
At one point, he grabbed hold of Ms Stephenson's arms and left some bruising, and as she settled to go to sleep, the defendant became more angry and violent towards her.
Bethune grabbed hold of the victim's head and banged it against the wall, and grabbed her around the throat multiple times, the court heard.
The court heard how was "so scared that she was going to be killed", telling him "Please don't do this", to which Bethune replied: "Just wet the bed or do it on the floor."
Eventually the defendant let her go to the bathroom, although he did follow her. The pair went back to bed, and when Bethune fell asleep, Ms Stephenson left with the keys and contacted police.
Bethune was jailed for 12 months and was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £187.
He had 26 previous offences on his record including assault and public order offences, and gave no comment to police.
Bethune's lawyer Derek McDonald said: "He has mental health issues and things got out of hand. He says he had no memory of what happened whatsoever."
