A jealous man who controlled his partner’s life and struck her with a horse whip after learning she would work with a male colleague has been sentenced to prison.
During their “toxic” relationship, 24-year-old Thomas Edwards cut his partner off from family and friends, demanded access to her social media accounts, and forced her to send videos from work to prove who she was with. 📱
Swansea Crown Court heard that Edwards displayed “unduly jealous” behaviour toward any males his partner interacted with, threatening to “smash up” men she worked with and monitoring her communications—eventually causing her to lose her job.
After finding new employment as a barmaid, Edwards was quickly banned from the premises for threatening the boss’ husband. The controlling behaviour extended to their home, where Edwards would force his partner to remain in the bedroom when his male friends visited.
The situation escalated on August 14 when Edwards’ partner received a call informing her she would be working with her boss’ son-in-law. Edwards became “aggressive and violent,” refusing to leave when asked and striking his partner’s thigh with a horsewhip. She managed to secretly dial 999 before police arrived, causing Edwards to flee to an upstairs flat where he was arrested.
In her victim statement, Edwards’ partner said the relationship had significantly impacted her “mental well-being.”
Defence counsel Matt Murphy said Edwards accepted his wrongdoing and wished to apologise to the complainant, noting he had completed several courses while on remand.
Judge Paul Thomas KC condemned Edwards’ “pathetically childish attitude towards women born from immature jealousy more like that of a teenager of 13 or 14 rather than the grown man you are supposed to be.”
Edwards, who has nine previous convictions for 23 offences, was sentenced to 16 months in prison but will likely be released within weeks due to time served on remand since August 15 last year. ⚖️
