Man controlled partner by locking her in home and cutting off internet
54-YEAR-OLD TOLD WOMAN WHAT TO WEAR AND CALLED HER NAMES
A MAN has been jailed following a coercive campaign against his partner, which included locking her in their home and disconnecting the internet.
Wieslaw Koltarz, 54, made his girlfriend feel worthless to the point she felt “destroyed inside”.
The former antiques dealer would tell his girlfriend what to wear, destroyed any clothes he deemed inappropriate and would call her abusive names.
On some occasions he stopped her from leaving the house for work and also disconnected their phone line and internet after she messaged a friend on Facebook.
Koltarz, of Weatherill Street, Goole, appeared at Hull Crown Court to be sentenced for engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour.
The relationship began in 2003 and in the early days Koltarz was “passive and jealous” but “she quite liked that”, according to prosecuting barrister Deborah Smithies.
“Their daughter was born in 2005 and they moved into their own home in 2006,” said Ms Smithies. “The defendant was already objecting to her going out on her own but following the move he began to be a little violent towards her.
“I limit that to pushing her during arguments. She was frightened of him and gradually her self-esteem diminished.”
The couple and their daughter came to the UK in 2013, where “things seemed better” but then “gradually got worse”.
In 2017, Koltarz was running a shop in Goole in which his partner would come and help him. On one occasion she called in sick, telling him she would be late for work.
“That made him angry,” said Ms Smithies. “There was an argument which ended in a physical outburst by him.
“She reported that incident to the police and the defendant was arrested and cautioned for battery.”
On another occasion Koltarz physically prevented his partner from going to work in Scarborough by locking all the doors of their house.
Koltarz ripped her blouse and told her she was not going. She then changed and tried to escape through a kitchen window, but Koltarz kept her locked up for about an hour.
In June 2018, Koltarz was in their kitchen preparing dinner when he started waving a kitchen knife around during a “frightening” argument with his partner.
Koltarz also accused his partner of having an affair after she picked up some extra hours at work but forgot to tell him.
When he saw she had been messaging a friend on Facebook, Koltarz accused her of wanting to see that friend and disconnected the landline and internet.
“She described how vulnerable she felt when she realised she had no means of contacting anyone,” said Ms Smithies.
“She described how the defendant would not let her have a normal social life and spend any time outside of their home with friends in the evenings or weekends.
“If she did make plans, he would either stop her leaving or let her go and accuse her of being unfaithful.
“He would stop her going to work, telling her that her work didn’t matter. But, if she didn’t work he would accuse her of not contributing to household bills.
“He also tried to cut off her contacts with her family in Poland. He was angry if she contacted them on Facebook. He would frequently change her passwords to stop her accessing her account.”
Koltarz also tried to control what his partner wore and would object anytime she wore heels or dresses and also tell her what make-up she could wear.
If he did not like an item of clothing she wore he would destroy it and tell her that she was too old to be wearing clothes like that
“He was angry if she came home late and the effect of that was to have her always feeling that she had to check her watch under constant pressure of time,” said Ms Smithies.
“He created an environment in which she lived in fear and anxiety. She had no self-esteem and no support.”
Sentencing Koltarz to 12 months in prison, Judge John Thackray said: “Over a long period of time, it is clear you made the life of your victim and partner a misery.
“There can never be justification for behaviour like this.”