A former soldier grabbed his estranged sister by the throat after he found out his father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. He refused to leave and attacked his sibling at their mother's home, leaving her unable to breathe or cry out for help.
Andrew Otton, 42, was distressed after learning from his uncle that his father had been given a terminal diagnosis. The following day, on February 22 last year, he turned up at his parents' home in New Tredegar, Caerphilly, having been estranged from his family for six years.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Wednesday heard the victim was on a phone call to her father, who was in hospital, when she saw Otton walking up to the house and put his foot inside the door. He demanded to know what was wrong with his father, but was told by his mother and sister to leave as his father didn't wish the defendant to know about his condition.
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Prosecutor Rebecca Griffiths said Otton became increasingly aggressive and his sister told him he didn't have the right to call his father any more and asked him to leave, but he continued to ask about his father. The barrister said: "He came face to face with her and their mother describes them being nose to nose. (The victim) stepped back fearing he was going to hurt her, and referred to a previous incident of violence."
Otton became even more aggressive and was shouting to the point his leg was shaking. He went to leave but the victim told him "Good, go and don't ever come back".
Ms Griffiths added: "(Otton) turned and lunged at her, grabbing her around the throat causing her to fall back onto the kitchen table. She said it was a matter of seconds but it felt like a long time holding her down by the throat saying 'Who the f*** do you think you are?'
"She said she was gasping for air and swinging her arms and struggling. She couldn't get him off and he squeezed that hard she couldn't breathe and couldn't call her mother to help."
Following the assault, they told Otton to leave and never come back, and he did leave. The victim called her husband and her distraught mother called the police. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered reddening and scratching to her neck and it felt tender for a couple of hours.
The victim said the incident left her feeling "petrified". In a victim personal statement, she said: "I am disgusted with his behaviour, he wasn't brought up to behave in this way. My father was a traditional man and he was never brought up to harm women. I am ashamed to call him my brother.
"I don't sleep well anyway and the incident hasn't helped at all... He was definitely trying to seriously hurt me and I am worried for my mother and father's safety, they're vulnerable and he has a temper. I am worried he will come here and hurt my parents when I am not there and unable to protect them. He needs to know what he has done was wrong."
Otton, of Gorse Terrace, Eliott’s Town, New Tredegar was arrested and interviewed by police and claimed his sister had "got in his face" and had threatened to slap him, saying he had acted in self defence. He denied grabbing her by the throat but later pleaded guilty to assault by beating. The court heard the defendant had previous convictions for motoring offences.
In mitigation, Stuart John said his client, a father-of-four, had received the news about his father "third hand" which had left him "devastated". He said it was understandable Otton had gone to the family home to find out the situation but the physical violence carried out against his sister was "inexcusable". The barrister said the defendant had been a member of the Armed Forces until 2021 and was not a violent man.
Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Hammond said: "This is a sad case for all concerned. That was the last thing your sister and mother needed right then, going round there uninvited and assaulting your sister."
Otton was sentenced to a 16-month community order. He was ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, to pay £500 in court costs and £500 in compensation, and was made subject to a restraining order for two years.
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