Cambridge abuser jailed for savage attack on partner

A man who carried out a "savage attack" on his then-partner, breaking her arm and her teeth, has been jailed for eight years.

Nathan Giltinane, 34, of Walnut Tree Avenue, Cambridge, beat her so severely, she called NHS 111 saying she was dizzy.

The call handler heard Giltinane in the background trying to coerce her into saying she had fallen, and alerted police to her predicament.

He denied charges of coercive behaviour and criminal damage but admitted assault occasioning grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent and was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Friday.

The two other charges will remain on file, and in addition to his jail term, he was given a 10-year restraining order preventing him from contacting his victim.

Cambridgeshire Police said the woman had been punched and kicked in the head before she called for help on 13 November last year, telling the NHS she had a black eye and a "bust lip".

Having been alerted, officers arrived at the house that night where they found Giltinane and the woman, who had chipped front teeth and could barely move her arm.

Giltinane was arrested and the woman was taken to hospital where further checks revealed she had a broken arm, hair missing and a lump on her head warranting a CT scan.

On the way to hospital, she told officers that it was Giltinane who had attacked her. She told them he had kicked her in the head, chipping her teeth, and she had lost consciousness.

In his police interview, Giltinane claimed he "backhanded" his partner, which made her fall over on to her arm, but said he did it in retaliation after she hit him first.

Sentencing him last week, Recorder James Willan KC told Giltinane there was no excuse for the attack on his partner, whose arm he broke while she tried to defend herself as he punched and kicked her while she was on the floor.

He said alongside her broken arm, there was bruising to the woman's forehead, eye socket, shoulders, the back of her hand and she also had fractured teeth.

There had been at least eight points of contact where she had been hit, he said.

He said Giltinane had previously been jailed for domestic violence offences, and concluded that he posed a "significant risk of harm to future female intimate partners" as he was "willing to use significant violence".

Det Con Frankie Enticknap said: "Giltinane savagely attacked his partner, and then encouraged her to lie about how she had been injured.

"I would like to thank the NHS 111 call taker who realised something wasn't quite right – it's precisely suspicions like these that can make all the difference.

"Giltinane's behaviour left his partner incredibly frightened, and no-one should ever be made to feel that way. Domestic abuse is never acceptable and there is no excuse."