Dawlish man jailed for three assaults

One victim was his former partner

A Dawlish man has been jailed for two violent assaults, one of which was on his former partner.

Richard Williams, 39, of Holman Close, appeared at Exeter Crown Court after pleading guilry to three assualts occasioning actual bodily harm, fatal strangulation and criminal damge.

He's been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and is also the subject of a restraining order to protect the victim of the domestic assaults.

The court heard how on 22 August 2024, Williams was on The Strand in Dawlish and at around 9.30pm walked up to a man and punched him in the face with such force he was knocked unconscious and lay on the floor for almost seven minutes.

The victim, who was not known to Williams, was taken to hospital but fortunately suffered no long-term injuries.

Later in the evening, officers were called to an address in Dawlish following a report of a domestic incident involving Williams.

Williams’ former partner described how following the earlier assault, she made her way to his property to collect belongings as she didn’t want to be with him anymore.

When at the property, Williams prevented her from leaving and subjected her to a sustained and chilling ordeal.  

During the incident Williams bit the victim several times and repeatedly struck her with a shoe she lost as she tried to escape.

The victim then made another attempt to escape and was tripped by Williams who then strangled her, resulting in her thinking she was going to die.

A total of five attempts to escape were made, each time Williams stopping the victim and subjecting her to more violence.

Eventually, a neighbour ran outside and stopped the attack after hearing a scream on the driveway, and took the victim inside his property to await the police.

The victim was left with extensive injuries covering her whole body. Williams also damaged a car parked outside the address the victim was taken into.

PC Emma Phillips said: “On the day in question Williams began by assaulting a stranger in public in what was a completely unprovoked and brutal attack.

“He then turned his attentions to his former partner who was forced to endure a truly terrifying and prolonged ordeal.

“Each time she bravely tried to escape, Williams would drag her back – including by the hair – and subject her to more violence.

“I would like to thank the two victims in this case for supporting the case and ensuring a violent and dangerous man has been brought to justice.

“We take all incidents of violence extremely seriously and will continue to investigate the incidents reported to us.

“If you have been the victim of an offence you can report it to us via 101 or our website. If you are in immediate danger always call 999.”