Toothpaste squeezed down woman's throat during hotel sex attack

A Londonderry man squeezed toothpaste down his ex-partner's throat and doused her in cream during a hotel room sex attack, the Court of Appeal heard.
Pacemaker Press 22/5/2013  Laganside Court Building  in Belfast City centre  Pic Colm Lenaghan/PacemakerPacemaker Press 22/5/2013  Laganside Court Building  in Belfast City centre  Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker
Pacemaker Press 22/5/2013 Laganside Court Building in Belfast City centre Pic Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker

In a separate alleged assault she was trailed by the hair into a bath before her naked body was covered in shampoo.

Details emerged as her former lover failed in a bid to overturn his conviction on 21 counts including multiple sexual assaults, false imprisonment, criminal damage and common assault.

The 32-year-old man, who is not being named for legal reasons, received a six-year custodial sentence in July.

All of the alleged attacks occurred between May and November 2013.

In the first incident he carried out a sexual assault after pulling her by the foot and shoulder from under a bed, the court heard.

Two months later he allegedly threw a glass full of water at the woman, leaving her with a bloodied nose.

In August that year, according to the prosecution, the man subjected her to further sexually-motivated violence in a Belfast hotel room.

It was claimed that he grabbed his ex-partner and pushed her face against a mirror.

Setting out the case against the appellant, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said: “He then grabbed her by the hair, pushed her head back, squeezed toothpaste down her throat and rubbed it on her face and hair.

“He put his foot on her shoulder and poured creams and soap over her.”

At that stage he allegedly tore her underwear off, rippled all the clothes she had bought, bit her below the stomach and subjected her to sex acts.

In November 2013 he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her towards the bathroom in her home, the prosecution submitted.

He allegedly told her to get into the bath, put shampoo all over her naked body and sexually assaulted her as she tried to get the bottle.

The man denied all complaints, insisting nothing violent or non-consensual took place.

He said the couple had travelled to Belfast, visited a sex shop and then spent the night at the hotel.

According to his case the woman could not accept he was moving on with a new partner.

Defence lawyers centred their appeal on issues around the admissibility of bad character evidence on previous convictions at the trial.

But Sir Declan said: “The substance of the prosecution application was that this was a man who in the relatively recent past had assaulted four female partners.

“That was evidence that was plainly appropriately placed before the jury in this case, and we do not accept that there was any failure of investigation beyond the circumstances made available to the learned trial judge.”

Rejecting other grounds advanced, he confirmed: “We are satisfied that the conviction is safe and accordingly dismiss the appeal.”

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