A serial domestic abuser subjected his victim to a harrowing ordeal, warning her, “Be quiet or I’ll kill you,” as he viciously attacked her, causing her to lose consciousness twice. Tremaine Actie, aged 31, assaulted his former girlfriend by punching her, throttling her, and menacingly mentioning a deceased family member.
During a sentencing at Swansea’s Nightingale Court on Monday, the court heard that the assault occurred on January 2, merely four months after the couple had initially met. On that fateful evening, Actie flew into a rage, smashing the victim’s phone against a wall and hurling derogatory insults at her.
Prosecutor Rose Glanville detailed how Actie further degraded the victim, even coercing her to perform a lap dance while he continued his torment. Subsequently, he forcefully pushed her onto her bed, striking her in the face, causing her to bleed into her eyes, impairing her vision as she cried out for assistance.
Ms Glanville recounted how Actie then covered the victim’s mouth with his hand, menacingly warning her to remain silent under threat of death. He proceeded to strangle her, menacingly invoking the deceased mother of the victim as he did so. The victim lost consciousness on two occasions during this ordeal, awakening to Actie’s chilling declarations that he had saved her life and warning her against contacting the authorities.
Despite the victim’s pleas for Actie to leave, he resorted to threatening suicide and later pressured her to fabricate the cause of her injuries to emergency responders. At one juncture, the victim managed to video call a close friend, who promptly alerted the police on her behalf. Actie was apprehended that same evening, discovered hiding under a heap of blankets at a property.
Describing the attack as “sustained,” Ms Glanville highlighted numerous aggravating factors, including the duration of Actie’s grip around the victim’s throat and his efforts to obstruct her from reporting the incident. While no victim impact statement was presented, it was noted that the ordeal had inflicted significant psychological distress upon the victim.
Actie, residing on Taff Embankment in Grangetown, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to charges of non-fatal strangulation and actual bodily harm. Ms Glanville informed the court of Actie’s extensive criminal history, comprising 19 prior convictions for 28 offences, including four instances of violence against women, with three involving former partners and one entailing facial punches to a woman.
In defence of Actie, Kevin Seal asserted that his client’s criminal behaviour had waned in recent years and emphasised Actie’s remorse and contrition, evident through his guilty pleas. Taking these factors into consideration, Judge David Harris, addressing Actie via video link from custody, underscored a significant risk of Actie perpetrating further harm, particularly against women.
Consequently, Actie was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for non-fatal strangulation, with a concurrent 19-month term for actual bodily harm. Additionally, he was issued a restraining order, prohibiting any contact with the victim for the subsequent five years. Actie will serve half of his sentence in prison before being released under supervision. Furthermore, he was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228 within six months of his release.
