“She was crying, uncontrollably crying,” said a witness about an alleged non-fatal strangulation incident in Oxford.

Steven Persaud, of Wytham View, Eynsham, is on trial at Oxfordshire Magistrates Court (September 21) for several charges including intention of strangulation of a woman in July.

The 40-year-old has also been charged with racially aggravated assault, breaking bail conditions and damage to a vehicle costing under £5,000.

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The court heard that in the early hours of July 27, at about 2.30am, Persaud had allegedly attempted to strangle a woman in Barns Road.

Speaking in a court, a witness said: “I was in my bedroom trying to sleep when I heard some commotion.

“I thought it was my brother making noise so I went to the window to tell him to keep it down but it wasn’t him.

“I could see [two males and a female] were the commotion. The female was walking away while [one male] aggressively followed her, shouting at her.

“He cussed at her and asked why she was selling her body and was trying to stop the commotion saying, ‘No that’s not what happened’.

“It didn’t seem to work. He just got more violent towards her and called her a w**** then proceeded to go up to her fast and grab her neck with his left hand.

“It was pretty hard. She was just crying – uncontrollably crying.”

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The young witness added that the victim had managed to “slip out” onto the floor where the male allegedly began kicking her before the witness’s mother called the police.

Police arrived at about 3am and arrested Persaud for assault. The second male was also arrested on different charges.

The court heard that Persaud then urinated on the floor of a police van after he was arrested before becoming unconscious and requiring medical assistance.

He was taken to the John Radcliffe hospital when he finally regained consciousness and allegedly began assaulting the accompanying police officers.

PC Holly Bradley, of Cowley Police Station, said: “He said he was going to give me covid and said he was going to cough in my face – he said it about five times.

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“He also threatened to spit in my face and resisted the handcuffs after using the loo.”

While waiting for a doctor to assess Persaud, he was then charged a second time for racially aggravated assault after calling an African police officer a “f****** monkey.”

The officer in court said: “I was a bit shocked and a bit embarrassed as well. I felt angry – he was insulting me.”

The trial continues.

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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