Hamilton Parish man who bit his wife on the cheek.

Kingsley Todd, 36, of Winton Hill Lane pleaded guilty to unlawfully assaulting his wife Joy Todd on September 6 when he bit her on her cheek.

Prosecutor Insp. Peter Duffy told the court that the couple had a history of domestic disputes. On this occasion, Police were summoned to a residence where Joy Todd had fled for safety.

Insp. Duffy said the officers offered her medical assistance when they saw the teeth marks on her cheek but she declined.

Four days later Police interviewed Kingsley Todd who told them to ask his wife if she was going to press charges and then admitted biting her.

Joy Todd said it was not easy for her to press charges against her husband but said she was worried about her daughters, aged 2 and 10.

Her only regret was that she did not press charges sooner because she wanted the behaviour to stop.

Senior Magistrate the Wor. William Francis told the couple that they had to understand that "we all reach a stage where we need help'' because sometimes it was difficult to deal with problems inside the "confines of the household''.

He ordered a social inquiry report for the couple and told them to return to the court on January 3 at 2.15 p.m. He released Kingsley Todd on $500 bail.