A man said to have punched and bitten his estranged girlfriend and threatened her with a knife was handed a suspended sentence and probation order.

Prosecutor Takiyah Burgess told Supreme Court the 46-year-old pushed his way into the victim's bedroom to retrieve his cell phone charger. He then rubbed her body in a sexual manner and turned violent when she refused to have sex.

Ms Burgess explained the couple's relationship broke down prior to the incident in April. However, they had a mortgage on their condo and no alterative accommodation so continued to live apart under the same roof.

She told the court the man who she said reeked of alcohol cursed at his ex, threatened to kill her, then got an eight-inch butcher's knife and again uttered a death threat.

At one point during the struggle that ensued, the man pinned his victim down and got on top of her.

"She started to frantically fight the defendant off, scratching and clawing and biting him," said Ms Burgess.

She explained that the victim eventually managed to fight the man off, causing him to fall down the stairs but not before he punched her repeatedly about the head, slapped her and bit her on the upper back.

She locked herself in her bedroom and called 911, and the Police came and arrested him. She suffered a bruised lip, an abrasion on her knee, a bite mark on her back and head pains.

The man was charged with serious sexual assault, which he denied, but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault occasioning bodily harm at a court hearing earlier this year. Prosecutors asked for the sex charge to lie on file.

The Royal Gazette is not naming the defendant due to the nature of the allegations made, in order to protect the identity of the victim.

Defence lawyer Shade Subair said the man denies the version of events listed by the prosecutor. He claims the woman picked the fight over the phone charger and turned violent first. He denies ever having a knife, making sexual advances upon her or punching her.

However, Ms Subair said he admits forcefully pushing past his ex into her bedroom, and although he does not recall biting her, he admits this may have happened during the struggle.

She added that the man, who has a history of drug abuse, is remorseful for his actions.

He has a previous conviction for violently resisting arrest 20 years ago and burgling a house in July 2009. He spent just over six months in prison on remand over the domestic attack prior to yesterday's court hearing.

Prosecutor Ms Burgess asked Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons to impose a jail sentence of between nine months and two years for what she described as "a deliberate and unprovoked attack". However, Ms Subair argued that the prison time already served, plus a probation order, would be sufficient.

The man declined an invitation from Mrs. Justice Simmons to address her before she sentenced him, telling her: "I just want to get this ordeal over with".

The judge noted that the victim was left "battered and bruised" and with lasting psychological damage. And she told him: "The court takes a dim view of men who resort to solving domestic disputes with violence. You could very easily have walked away.'

She meted out a one-year prison sentence, six months of which are suspended for two years, plus a one-year probation order. The probation order has conditions including a 10 p.m. to 6.30 a.m curfew for the first six months.