A Sandys man who assaulted a woman has been sentenced to a year behind bars for what a magistrate described as “torture”.

Derek Dill, 58, pleaded guilty in Magistrates’ Court yesterday morning to a charge of assault causing bodily harm in an incident on May 7.

Prosecutor Loxly Ricketts told the court that on the evening of the attack, Dill had gotten into an argument with his live-in girlfriend about her giving her friend a ride home.

The girlfriend, who suffers a medical condition, was taking oxygen through a tube when Dill began to attack her, striking her shoulders and neck. As the fight continued, he hit her in the head and pushed her to the ground, choked her, scratched her legs and restricted the flow of oxygen through the tube.

In total, the assault was said to have lasted for around an hour.

When he eventually backed away, she called the police. He returned while she was on the phone and, hearing her make a complaint, he snatched the phone and threw it against a wall. Officers who arrived on the scene said Dill appeared agitated, at one point saying: “She called you and I haven’t even gotten violent yet.”

The officers also noticed scratches on the victim’s head and chest, along with marks on her back and shoulders. While she told police she did not want to press charges, Dill was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station.

He was held overnight, but was still acting aggressively the following day. While in the custody area, he reportedly told one officer: “I’m not going to kill her, but I may beat her.”

As a result of his comments, he was further detained.

Duty counsel Susan Mulligan said that while Dill admitted assaulting the victim, he denied the events as described by prosecutors. She told the court that the pair had gotten into a physical fight over money with both people attacking each other.

Ms Mulligan said Dill was extremely remorseful, noting that he was crying in the court as the matter was being discussed.

“The man could hardly have any more remorse,” she said. “He’s sobbing.”

She described him as a hard worker trying to support his family, adding that the relationship with the victim is now over so there was no risk of the incident being repeated.

Dill himself told the court that he would never do what was described by the prosecutors, saying: “I love her too much to do that.

“I tried to restrain her, but I had no intention of pulling her air out. Nothing like that. She bullied me first and I tried to restrain her. I do not bully women. That’s not my thing. I’m very, very sorry but that’s not me. It hurts me to think about it.”

Magistrate Archibald Warner however said he had no reason not to accept the version of events laid out by the Crown.

He said: “Based on these facts, she was for all intents and purposes a vulnerable partner and, in anger, he attacked her and systematically, and these words are strong, tortured her while knowing her incapacity and her frailties, including using her breathing apparatus to cut off her supply of air. That’s why I use the word torture.

“Ms Mulligan described him as a hard working man who supports his children. That may be true, but he is also a bully.”

In all the circumstances, he said a sentence of 12 months in prison would be appropriate, ordering that the time Dill has already served in custody be taken into account.

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