A jail sentence has been handed to a man who stamped repeatedly on his girlfriend after accusing her of hurting a cat.

Ben Elliott, 30, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (October 10) for three counts of assault by beating, one count of assault common and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The defendant pleaded guilty to all counts after abusing his girlfriend of just under two years at her home address in Chinnor.

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He admitted to punching her in the face, stamping repeatedly on her thigh and attacking her in her bedroom.

Judge Hassan Khan sentenced the sous chef to 16 months imprisonment for the assaults on the woman, who we have decided not to name.

During the sentencing, it was heard that the first incident took place on May 21 last year.

After an argument, Elliott punched the woman in the face in an outburst she described as ‘sudden and unexpected’.

After the incident, she sent him a photograph of her injuries to which Elliott replied: “I didn’t punch you. If I had meant to punch you, you would have been flat on your back on the floor unable to get up when I have a pretty high level of punching people and knocking them out.”

In the August, Elliott then accused the woman of hitting the cat which she refuted, the court was told. 

He then stamped repeatedly on her, saying: “It’s not nice is it, that’ll teach you.”

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In December, he attacked her in her bedroom after accusing her of calling him ugly. He ‘grabbed’ her and ‘started throwing her around and struck her twice to the face’.

He was finally arrested in January this year after the woman told Elliott she wanted to break up. He was caught banging on her front door by police.

In a police interview, he responded that he ‘didn’t mean to’ when asked questions about the different assaults.

The court heard that Elliott has no previous convictions. A victim impact statement was written but the woman decided she did not want it read out in court.

Defending Elliott, his defence barrister said he has expressed ‘sincere remorse and regret’ and was ‘embarrassed’ to be in court for his behaviour.

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She said he has been taking courses to address his own concerns with his ‘underlying mental health issues’.

Elliot, The Close, Great Horwood, Milton Keynes, was also handed a five-year restraining order not to contact the victim or her children.

He is also not allowed to enter Chinnor during this period.