But the court heard his victim did not support the prosecution
A man who subjected his girlfriend to a “brutal and merciless attack” - punching and butting her in the face and breaking her jaw in three places - has been sent to jail.
A judge branded Joel Bruton a bully who cannot control his temper.
Swansea Crown Court heard the assault happened in the living room of his partner’s father’s house in Morriston in the early hours of February 15.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said the couple were arguing in the flat before 23-year-old Bruton was seen to leave - the father then found his daughter covered in blood sitting on a sofa.
Police were called, and the first officer on the scene said the victim was “distressed, bleeding and in considerable pain” with her face bruised and severely swollen.
The prosecutor said that due to a lack of ambulances it was police who took the woman to hospital - she was diagnosed with three fractures to the jaw, and subsequently needed surgery to insert metal plates into the bone,
Bruton was tracked down to his mother’s house and arrested.
The court heard that in her initial statement Bruton’s partner said he had repeatedly punched her in the face and butted her - but she later “disengaged from the police” and did not support the prosecution.
Mr Pulling said that given the seriousness of the injuries, the Crown prosecuted without her support.
Bruton, of Cwmbath Road, Morriston, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared in the dock.
The court heard that in January 2016 Bruton had been sentenced to 30 months in prison for a Valium-fuelled 24-hour crime spree which had seen him assault two teenage boys, steal an iPhone, and break into the Morriston home of a couple in their 80s - the wife of the couple had awoken to find the defendant rummaging through a cupboard in her bedroom. He was later identified as the person responsible for the burglary after leaving one of his Nike trainers at the scene.
Judge Geraint Walters said Bruton had “no doubt been under the influence of something or other” when he assaulted his partner.
He said: “This was a brutal, merciless attack on a vulnerable young woman which was sustained in its nature.
“You should be thoroughly ashamed - you subjected her to a savage attack. You caused your partner very serious injuries.
“You seem to me to be something of a bully who is unable to control his temper.”
The judge sentenced him to 32 months in prison, half of which he will serve in custody.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/womans-jaw-broken-three-places-12794690
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