A Honiton teenager left his partner with two black eyes and bruising around her neck after attacking and strangling her in a field as they walked home from a pub in Honiton.

Article from the Midweek Herald court reporter.

Tyler Rawlings tried to persuade the mother-of-three to tell her family that she suffered the injuries by walking into a tree but she told them the truth and the police were called.

The couple had an argument as they walked home after closing time after a night out when they went into a field and the assault started when Rawlings knocked her to the ground.

He kept pushing her back down during a 30 minute ordeal in which he punched and slapped her in the face and climbed on top of her while gripping her by the throat. He squeezed until she screamed and then let go.

She managed to get away and went to spend the night with friends before reporting the attack the next day.

Rawlings, aged 19, of St Leonards Road, Honiton, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and intentional strangulation and was jailed for a year, suspended for two years by Recorder Mr Malcolm Galloway at Exeter Crown Court.

He was ordered to attend a Building Better Relationships course, 15 days of rehabilitation activities, 12 sessions of mental health treatment, and to pay £300 costs and a £187 victim surcharge.

The judge told him: “You pushed her on the floor every time she tried to get up, you began to punch her with your fist and slap her with your hand although she was crying and yelling.

“You pushed her onto the floor, put your hands around her neck and strangled her. I accept that was quick and that you stopped when she screamed.

“The act of strangulation causes a real and justified fear of death. The victim is terrified and is at risk of unconsciousness in relatively few seconds if the pressure is maintained.”

The judge said he was making an exceptional decision to suspend the sentence because of Rawlings’s young age, immaturity, mental health issues and the likelihood of successful rehabilitation.

Miss Victoria Bastock, prosecuting, said the attack happened in a field on the outskirts of Honiton shortly after midnight on October 2 last year and left the victim terrified and with severe bruising to her face, a bloodshot eye, and scratches and marks on her neck.

He tried to persuade her not to report the attack, suggesting that she told family and friends that she suffered the injuries while walking into a tree.

A victim impact statement revealed that the woman, who has a young child with Rawlings and two older children, is still trying to recover from the effects of an abusive relationship.

Miss Mary McCarthy, defending, said there was a ten year age gap between the couple and that Rawlings denied any previous violence during the relationship.

He would benefit more from working with probation than going to jail and has been assessed as a good prospect for rehabilitation.