Man jailed for 22 months after drunken assaults on partner

Saturday 28 July 2018

A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to a 22 months in prison for assaulting his former partner on two separate occasions after he had been drinking in October 2017.

John Sebastian Nicolle was facing one charge of grave and criminal assault and one of common assault.

The Court heard that on 25 October 2017, the couple were at Nicolle's flat and drinking alcohol. Later on in the evening, Nicolle and his partner had an argument and pushed and shoved each other. Nicolle was verbally abusive and struck the woman. Injured, she then left the property. 

The day after that, the pair reconciled, but the following day, the woman said she was in pain from her injuries. Nicolle walked her to the hospital and she said she had injured herself after a fall when she was intoxicated. 

Pictured: Nicolle walked the victim to the hospital two days after the assault.

On 29 October 2017, the couple were drinking at Nicolle's flat and were joined by his former girlfriend. The couple argued and Nicolle told his partner to leave. He threw the rest of his glass over her, grabbed her by the arms and pushed and pulled towards the door whilst being verbally abusive. 

The victim went to the hospital where she disclosed both assaults but refused to name Nicolle. A Forensic Medical Examiner noticed bruising on her face, behind her right ear, breast and abdomen. In total, the FME found more than 70 separate injuries, mostly bruises and small cuts. 

She refused to make a complaint against Nicolle and described him as "a loving and kind person who had a tough upbringing."

In interview, Nicolle said the couple would bicker over alcohol issues and that he was getting tired of having his partner around. He also said that the fact she came from a wealthier background was a source of friction between them. He denied causing any injuries to the victim. He admitted pushing and shoving but nothing that would have injured her. 

He also denied the second assault and suggested the victim had punched herself in the face to get him into trouble. Nicolle eventually admitted the assaults four days before a jury trial was due to start.  

The Court heard that he had 29 convictions for 79 offences, including assaults and grave and criminal assaults.

Pictured: Advocate Sarah Dale said Nicolle had joined the carpentry workshop while in prison.

Advocate Sarah Dale, defending, said that Nicolle denied "preying on vulnerable women." She said he has had problems with alcohol and drugs abuse since an early age, having always been surrounded by people having the same problems. 

She explained that Nicolle had taken on a job as a cleaner in the prison before joining the carpentry workshop to gain more skills. She said that he had also been studying to get his GCSEs in Maths and English.

Pictured: Crown Advocate Richard Pedley said the assaults had arisen "out of a drunken loss of temper."

Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Gerry Ramsden and Rozanne Thomas, noted that Nicolle had an extensive record which included two previous convictions for grave and criminal assault.

He agreed with the Crown Advocate's description of the assault as having arisen "out of a drunken loss of temper." He added that domestic assaults are seen as more serious than those in the public place but judged that a sentence of two years was slightly too high.

He commended Nicolle for his great use of time in custody and encouraged him to take advantage of the help that will be available to him after his release.

He sentenced Nicolle to one year and 10 months in prison and imposed a restraining order as well as an exclusion order from licences premises to "support Nicolle in his change of lifestyle."