Daniel Rogers (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
A 38-year-old man has been jailed for strangling his partner so forcefully that she lost consciousness, having initially claimed the injuries were the result of consensual sexual activity.
Daniel Rogers was sentenced to 18 months in prison at Swansea Crown Court after pleading guilty to intentional strangulation.
How they met
The court heard Rogers and the victim first met in 2021 at a time when she was homeless while he had a steady income and somewhere to live. Prosecutor Caitlin Brazel said the woman gradually developed feelings for Rogers, but that he would threaten her with ending up back on the streets.
The attack
On April 28, 2024, the pair were staying at an Airbnb property in the Neath area and had been drinking throughout the evening. A verbal row escalated, with Rogers becoming what the prosecution described as “increasingly aggressive and irate”, screaming in the woman’s face.
He then grabbed her, threw her onto the bed, and placed both hands around her throat and squeezed. The victim struggled but could not free herself and was unable to breathe. She later described feeling as though her eyes “were going to burst” before everything went dark and she passed out.
A neighbour who heard screaming and sounds of a disturbance called 999.
Why it took months to come to light
When officers arrived, the victim told them nothing had happened and that she had consented. Miss Brazel told the court that the following day, the woman spoke to a domestic violence support worker and admitted she had not been truthful with police because she did not believe she would be taken seriously and did not think Rogers would be arrested.
It was not until August 2024 that the full account emerged. A member of the public called 999 to report a disturbance involving the same victim and screams for help. Rogers was arrested on suspicion of assault, and it was at that point the woman disclosed what had happened in April.
During interview, Rogers maintained the neck injuries had been caused during consensual sex – a claim he held to until the day of trial.
The defendant’s record
Rogers, formerly of Croft Road in Neath but now of no fixed abode, has 26 previous convictions for 27 offences. These include battery of a former partner, assaulting emergency workers, and an assault occasioning actual bodily harm on the same victim in 2024 – the offence that led to her finally reporting the strangulation.
The court also heard of a previous conviction for sending threatening communications to an ex-girlfriend in which he told her he was going to kill her and sent a photograph of himself digging her grave.
Defence mitigation
Ieuan Rees, representing Rogers, told the court that at their first meeting his client had wanted to argue the injuries were caused by consensual intercourse, but that he had advised him “no such defence can possibly flow”. A guilty plea followed.
Mr Rees said a pre-sentence report showed Rogers had experienced childhood trauma and suffered with “bad mental health” over the years. He pointed to significant gaps in the offending record which, he said, demonstrated that “when he puts his mind to it, he can be a productive member of society”.
Victim’s statement
In a statement read to the court, the victim said Rogers’ behaviour had greatly affected her mental health and that she no longer feels safe. She said she believed she was going to die during the strangulation, and that looking back she felt the defendant had taken advantage of her vulnerabilities and the fact she had nowhere else to go.
Sentencing
Recorder Greg Bull KC told Rogers that strangulation was not permitted in law even where the other person consents, and that the consequences could be fatal. He described the defendant’s record for violence as “appalling” and said he was concerned at how long the case had taken to reach court.
Rogers received an 18-month prison sentence, reduced by 10 per cent for his guilty plea. He will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.
