A demon dad with a tatoo of Satan inked on his head has been jailed for violently abusing his partner. Paul Woodward, 34, was found guilty of coercive and controlling behaviour and causing actual bodily harm.
On Wednesday Woodward was jailed for four years and four months and slapped with a ten-year restraining order. Jurors heard Woodward subjected his victim to abusive behaviour on a daily basis and even refused to let her go to the toilet on her own. Woodward, who ran a bargain outlet, refused to let her use her mobile phone without him being present, monitored her calls and forced her to accompany him to work.
He also refused to let his partner have contact with her family and on one occasion he grabbed her by the throat and stamped on her chest. In a desperate bid to escape Woodward, the woman even leapt from a moving car, but was bundled back into the vehicle.
Woodward refused to take her to hospital after the incident and instead drove her home. His terrified partner finally plucked up the courage to tell police about Woodward’s abuse when officers visited the couple’s home in Wolverhampton.
During the routine visit in May 2021, officers ordered the dad-of-two to leave the property. When he left the house, his victim told police about her suffering and Woodward was later arrested.
Speaking after the case, PC Wayne Harris, of West Midlands Police, said: "Paul Woodward was a manipulative, domineering and violent individual, whose pattern of coercive and abusive behaviour towards his partner left her traumatised, living in fear for her safety and feeling isolated after being cut off from her family and friends.
“But she was determined to escape from this toxic relationship and, in doing so, hopes that others in a similar situation will likewise come forward and speak out. Woodward ultimately failed to control her and thanks to her courage he has now been justly punished for his actions.”
