A jealous man who violated a restraining order after being ordered to stay away for attacking her while she was a bridesmaid has been spared jail.
Aaron Williams beat up Jessica Gittings, 28, at her sister’s wedding in March 2019 after he accused her of flirting with other men, Newport Crown Court heard.
Williams, 29, was put under a restraining order after the wedding assault, but repeatedly breached the indefinite order and had previously been given another suspended sentence for not abiding by it.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of a breach of a restraining order and breaching a suspended sentence. But the judge ruled he could spare him jail because ‘there is still some prospect of rehabilitation’.
Aaron Williams, 29, (right) beat up Jessica Gittings, 28, (left) at her sister’s wedding in March 2019 after he accused her of flirting with other men, Newport Crown Court heard
Ms Gittings was still wearing her maid of honour dress when jealous Williams put her through a 90-minute violent ordeal at her mother’s home. Jessica Gittings is pictured on the day of her sister’s wedding
Williams, of Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, flew into a drunken fit of rage following the wedding and accused Ms Gittings of fancying other men at the reception.
Ms Gittings was still wearing her maid of honour dress when jealous Williams put her through a 90-minute violent ordeal at her mother’s home.
He left her with a footprint on her face and cuts and bruises across her body but then cowardly tried to take her away in a taxi so her family would not see the injuries.
‘I felt it before I saw it. Aaron stamped on my face with his shoe. He was still wearing the brown formal wedding shoes he’d bought,’ she said of the attack.
‘I begged him to please stop but Aaron didn’t stop. He began kicking me in the hips. I’d had lots of operations as a kid because I’d dislocated them and he knew I was fragile.
‘Then he stamped on my face again and with the force my tooth chipped off. He slapped me so hard that he left a hand print on my ribs.
‘He was demonic. There was no reasoning with him. He threw a lava lamp onto my face and then pulled a clump out of my hair.
‘For ninety minutes Aaron had abused and terrorised me as much as he could.’
Ms Gittings was left with a footprint on her face and cuts and bruises across her body
Jessica Gittings was rushed to nearby Prince Charles Hospital with an injury to her jaw, along with cuts and bruises across her body following the beating. She is pictured in hospital
Ms Gittings said she had ‘never been so scared’ and at that point had ‘feared for my life.’
‘That man has ruined my life in so many ways – mainly the way I feel about myself,’ she added. ‘I will rebuild my confidence and get back to the fun loving girl I once was. I am not going to let Aaron win but I wonder if I will ever trust a man again.’
She reported the attack to police and told officers how Williams controlled her throughout the relationship – making her delete social media and throwing away her makeup.
Williams later admitted actual bodily harm and was handed a suspended sentence and restraining order in June 2020. But he repeatedly breached the order and had previously been given another suspended sentence for not abiding by it.
Prosecutor Marian Lewis said Williams would phone Ms Gittings from an unknown number and put on a Liverpudlian accent in nuisance calls in October last year.
She said: ‘She heard heavy breathing followed by a male voice saying hello and she recognised that voice as being the defendant.
Ms Gittings reported the attack to police and told officers how Williams controlled her throughout the relationship – making her delete social media and throwing away her makeup. Jessica Gittings is pictured in her blue bridesmaid’s dress on the wedding day
‘That made her, frankly, anxious and he said, ‘Are you home alone? Are you on your own?’
Ms Lewis said the victim suffered a panic attack before Williams called again. She added: ‘She answered it and there was silence initially. Again she recognised the defendant’s voice and he said, ‘Hello, are you on your own?’
‘She didn’t respond to the call and ended it. She thought he was drunk and he was putting on a Liverpudlian accent.’
Ms Lewis said there was a third call a few days later. Ms Gittings ‘immediately recognised his voice’ and told Williams: ‘Aaron, I know it’s you, please just leave me alone. The police are involved.’
‘He was trying to disguise his voice again by putting on a Liverpudlian accent,’ the prosecutor told the court. ‘As soon as she challenged him, his voice changed to its normal accent.
‘The defendant then said, ‘I want you to go upstairs and touch yourself.’
Newport Crown Court heard Williams also sat opposite terrified Ms Gittings on a train when he was banned from approaching her as part of the order.
Aaron Williams (pictured) pleaded guilty to four counts of a breach of a restraining order and breaching a suspended sentence. He was handed a 10-month prison sentence that was suspended for two years. He must attend 30 sessions of a ‘Building Better Relationships’ programme and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement
Williams pleaded guilty to four counts of a breach of a restraining order and breaching a suspended sentence.
Tabitha Walker, representing Williams, he is a new father and a ‘bread-winner’ for his family.
The judge, Recorder Andrew Hammond, told Williams he could spare him jail because ‘there is still some prospect of rehabilitation’.
The defendant was handed a 10-month prison sentence that was suspended for two years. He must attend 30 sessions of a ‘Building Better Relationships’ programme and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.