A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to nine months in prison after being convicted of assaulting his former partner and attempting to coerce her into withdrawing criminal proceedings against him.
Brendon Matiza, from Cowley Road in Oxford, stood trial at Oxford Crown Court where he faced five charges relating to violence committed against his ex-partner during the period spanning December of the previous year through to April of the current year.
Alongside these allegations, he faced a single charge of attempting to pervert the course of public justice, having allegedly sent correspondence to the complainant urging her to abandon the legal action.
The defendant had entered pleas of not guilty to three charges of intentional strangulation, two charges of assault by beating, and the single charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Proceedings were informed that the woman was 16 weeks pregnant with Matiza’s child at the time of his arrest, and that she has since progressed to eight months of pregnancy.
On September 15, the jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts on one count of assault by beating and the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The remaining allegations resulted in acquittals.
Sentencing was carried out immediately, with the defendant receiving nine months imprisonment.
Additionally, a ten-year restraining order was issued by the court.
The court was made aware that Matiza had previously served a four-year prison sentence in 2024, having been convicted of two counts of attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.
Matt Knight, representing the prosecution, commenced proceedings before the jury on September 7.
Proceedings heard that the pair first encountered one another in November of the previous year, embarking on a relationship shortly thereafter.
The prosecution outlined that while the relationship began positively, it deteriorated rapidly from December onwards, with verbal disputes escalating into physical confrontation.
The jury was informed that during December of the previous year, a physical altercation resulted in the woman being shoved, causing her to fall and sustain an injury to her wrist.
Further testimony revealed that another confrontation arose following Matiza’s tardiness for an arranged meeting, during which he sought funds for public transport.
On this particular occasion, he allegedly subjected her to strangulation lasting approximately half a minute.
Evidence presented included audio recordings captured during telephone conversations the woman had with a male friend for support, during which arguments with Matiza developed.
The recordings contained audible sounds of the woman weeping.
On December 28 of the previous year, the woman was in the company of a 17-year-old acquaintance when a dispute with Matiza occurred, resulting in her sustaining bruising and bleeding.
In the early part of the current year, a further alleged strangulation took place.
Following a third alleged incident of strangulation, the woman reported the matter to law enforcement authorities.
The prosecution told the jury that charges were subsequently filed and trial proceedings arranged.
Nevertheless, Matiza dispatched a letter to the woman requesting that she withdraw the charges, stating that his early return home depended entirely upon all allegations being dropped by some unexpected turn of events.